


Night Fall

by Caroline_Oh



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everything is different and comparisons don't matter, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance, Vampires, it gets sexy eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-07-04 17:14:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 61,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15845757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caroline_Oh/pseuds/Caroline_Oh
Summary: Brynn Sloane was just looking for a change when she moved to Granite Falls, WA to live with her father. What she didn't expect to find was someone like Adam Wood: devilishly handsome, charming and intelligent... The kind of guy you read about in storybooks. But Adam has his own secret, and Brynn finds herself living in a world where myths are much closer to reality.





	1. Meeting

“Brynn? Are you still positive you want to do this?”

What a loaded question.

My mom had turned her bright hazel eyes towards me from her place in the driver’s side of the car. The gray sky behind her was in stark contrast to the short blonde curls and laugh-lined face that I could read like the palm of my own hand. Her expression was unabashedly concerned.

People that had known my parents when they were married had a frequent habit of telling me that their genes had gone exactly fifty/fifty on me. My mom had laid claim to my blonde curls and straight, slightly upturned nose while my dad had given me the blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled and the toothy grin to accompany them. I was tall like the Sloanes and laughed like the Gardners. These things other people could see but I knew that I was my mother’s daughter; having lived with her for all seventeen years of my life had assured me as much.

This wasn’t to say I hadn’t inherited some key traits from my father; we both had the uncanny ability to calm my mom, Jane, down.

“Yes, Mom, I’m sure. I’m really…” _With conviction, Brynn._ “Ready for something new.” I answered the question for what seemed like the hundredth time. I had to repeat the phrase as often as possible to convince myself that I was, in fact, sure. She looked at me again with a worried expression, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Okay, okay. As long as you’re absolutely sure,” she replied tiredly, looking back at the road as we neared the exit towards the Philadelphia airport. I leaned my elbow on the door, looking back out at the rain and trees. The rush of muted green and gray reminded me of the place I’d be landing in a few hours.

The place I’d be _living_ in a few hours _._

What I had said to my mom wasn’t a lie; I _was_ ready to leave my small New Jersey hometown. It wasn’t that it hadn’t been a good place to be a kid, it wasn’t that I didn’t love my mom or didn’t like living with her, and it wasn’t that something traumatic had tainted the place for me.

I just needed something… different.

I could have waited another year before I started college somewhere, sure, but I could feel myself growing unnaturally restless. My bones ached from the static energy of the life I was accustomed to. Nothing changed in Ocean City, save for the ever-churning ocean. I’d gone to school with the same people, worked with the same people, did the same things every week with the same people. While I knew this was no different than every other average American teen’s life, I felt this weight wearing on me more acutely than it seemed anyone else did.

_I’m sure,_ I thought.

I was going to miss the sun and my best friends, but I couldn’t sigh through another year. I had had my fun, kissed a few boys, even had a boyfriend for a time, but it felt like I was growing out of myself these days and the only thing that could ease the fear of remaining stagnant was a change in scenery, or coasts more specifically. My dad, who lived all the way across the country in rainy Granite Falls, Washington, had offered me the chance and I had taken it. This choice, however, wasn’t made without realizing that I would no longer be living with my vibrant spark of a mother.

_I’m_ **_sure_ ** _._

We finally reached the city; the unseasonably chill weather left the streets sparse of people. My mom pulled into the kiss-and-ride and cut the engine of her Lexus. “I’m _just_ checking one more time before you go inside―You’re completely sure you want to go live with Michael?” she asked, grasping for my paler hand. My mom had always worshipped the sun where I fought for my tan every summer; where I was sprinkled with freckles with only remnants of a tan, my mother’s skin was still a rich bronze.

God, I’d miss her eternal sunshine.

“Yes, Mom. All of this doesn’t mean that I don’t love living with you… I just… I just need a change,” I said, squeezing her hand.

When my parents had gotten divorced, I was only six years old and soon after my father moved across the country to expand his firm. My parents’ break up wasn’t by any means the easiest, but they had settled into a long distance friendship after so many years. I was only able to visit Michael on the rare occasions when he had time off from his job and I had time off from school. Despite this fact, he did his best to be a good dad, even if it was from three thousand miles away.

When I had sighed one too many times during a phone call with him back in July, he offered me a proposition: come out to Washington and ride out the rest of my senior year before I went off to college and I would get to live with him for the first time in eleven years. My mom was reluctant to see her little girl go a year earlier than expected, but after promising that I’d try and come home whenever I could, she had warmed up to the plan, especially after realizing that she had, in fact, had a monopoly on me for the last eleven years.

She heaved a deep sigh, and while part of me was so very sure, another part wanted to stay right where I was and forget about leaving. I’d miss my mom.

“Alright,” she exhaled, getting out of the car to help me with my bags. After I had slammed the trunk door shut, she turned to me. “I’ll be here if you ever want to come back,” my mom reminded me, pulling me into one of her bear hugs. I nestled my face into her neck, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume and tearing at the thought that I wouldn’t be able to hug her whenever I wanted anymore.

So this is what homesickness felt like.  

“Okay, Mommy. I love you,” I told her, pulling out of her hug and kissing her on the cheek.

“I love you too, honey. And you call me whenever you want,” she replied softly, kissing me again before rubbing my back. Her eyes were turning greener by the minute as tears threatened to break the levees. “Please just be safe.”

“I’m going to be okay, Mom. I always am. I’ll text you when I get in.” She nodded, obviously avoiding the words that would make her voice crack. I turned to go, setting my shoulders in a more determined stance than they felt like occupying. As I dragged my bag through the automatic door, I stubbed my toe on the edge between the tile. I cursed quietly, regretting my refusal to wear anything but flip flops until it was cold enough to freeze off my toes. I quickly adjusted my navy vest and the cream cable knit sweater I had paired underneath it before running a hand through my hair. I tried to pull myself together so I could keep moving on like I hadn’t just ruined the moment, then headed off in the direction of the counter.

As I stood waiting in line, I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and wiggled my phone out of my jean pocket. I texted my two closest friends, Zoe and Mia, to let them know that I was going to be taking off soon.

They had been my toughest goodbye.

We had all met in kindergarten and remained friends ever since. We’d seen each other through parents splitting and crushes on boys and prolonged awkward stages. I would miss them every day but they had been the ones that had encouraged me to get out and experience something new, even if it meant that we’d be talking through a screen. I remembered sitting with them, cross-legged on Zoe’s bed, contemplating my dad’s offer.

“Well, dude,” Zoe started, picking at split ends in her newly-dyed silver hair while swaying in the hanging chair that occupied the corner of her bedroom. “If I could go somewhere else for a year before fucking off to college, I would.”

“And it’s only a year―it’s not absolutely life changing, but it’ll give you a break,” Mia added, flipping onto her stomach beside me. Their rationalizations were so intrinsically _them_ that it was hard to miss. Zoe always wanted to get out there and do something wild, while Mia was more concerned with just finding the time for happiness.

“ _And_ your dad is always busy right? That means you’ll know what it’s like to live alone even before you go to college.” Zoe wasn’t wrong―Michael was never _not_ on a case and the solitude seemed appealing to me at the time.

“So, why not?”

They, and my mom of course, would be the only reasons why.

Mia responded to our group chat and reminded me to text them when I landed, and every day after that. _Don’t you go forgetting us, okay?_

I huffed out a sharp breath, putting away my phone, as I wheeled up to the TSA agent, a plump woman with brown hair pulled back in a dangerously tight bun.

After a brief interaction where she verified, in a thick Philly accent, that _yes_ , I was really only seventeen, _yes_ people always said that I looked older, _no_ I hadn’t taken advantage of this fact, I passed by with a stamped boarding pass and a customer service certified smile.

I had been browsing the Read-and-Return section of the convenience store when my phone began to buzz. I shifted my three potential choices under my arm and picked up the call.

“You made it through security alright?” my dad asked, jumping into the conversation without much pageantry; this was very typically him.

“Well, I’m not currently handcuffed to a desk answering questions about national security, so I think I’m off to a good start.”

He snorted before responding. “ _Ha-ha_ , _very_ funny. You arrive at three, right?” I made an affirmative sound. “So, I’m going to be finishing up some stuff at the office before this big meeting tomorrow that may take a little while to finish up. John’ll swing by to grab you, and I shouldn’t be home too long after you get in.”

I easily could have been bothered, thrown a fit, begged him to come pick me up and ignore his work, but this was the beauty of our relationship as father and daughter: no pressure, no fuss. We were no longer working with limited time, so he was free to feed his inner workhorse.

“Alright. Just don’t burn the midnight oil too much. I’ll let you know when I get in.”

With a quick exchange of goodbyes and _I love you_ ’s, I decided it was best that I just buy all three books and add them to the long list of must-reads.

The next few hours on the plane passed by slowly, my headphones doing their best to keep out the wails of the baby a couple rows ahead as well as the conversation attempts by the man seated beside me who, much like the TSA agent, had clearly fallen victim to the impression that I was much older.

I had never minded flying before, but I was more than eager to make my way out of the gate and down the stairs to the bag-drop. I stood by the carousel, the bags crawling by at a glacial pace, and tapped my foot to the beat of the song I had stuck in my head.

_Get out! And get gone. This town is only gonna get worse._

I was aware of how fitting this song happened to be.

Naturally, mine were some of the last bags around so it was now easy to find the single manilla folder with “Brynn Sloane” scrawled across the back among the few remaining stark-white, Times-New-Romaned papers.

“John!” I closed the distance between myself and my dad’s closest friend and we hugged one another.

“My God, Brynn―You’re so grown _up_ ,” he noted, holding me at arm’s length to assure himself of the fact that I was indeed the same height as him.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Growth spurt and tons of calcium,” I explained exasperatedly, waving off his comment.

“I’m so sorry that your father couldn’t be here to pick you up. You know how he can be. I let him know that if he didn’t get home in enough time, you’d be more than welcome to pizza with me and the boys. C’mon,” John explained, grabbing my bags and pulling them out to the Jeep Cherokee waiting outside.

I did know how he could be.

My father had become successful by working for a highly recognized business law firm in Seattle and was ridiculously busy all the time, which was both a blessing and a curse. Whenever I came to visit him, he was working on this case or going to that benefit so I never got much time with him. He had promised he’d try and turn down anything that kept him away from me too long, but I knew my father, and myself for that matter, too well to think that he would doing anything but continue to work his very hardest.

John and I chatted for part of the car ride about starting school, the college hunt and much of the like, but after a while we both fell into a most welcome silence. I hummed along to the music playing on the radio as I gazed out the window.

It was all just so _green_. South Jersey had never been like this. High, purple mountains stuck through the dark gray clouds as rain poured out of them onto the windshield. The clouds, the rain, the music, the sound of the car’s engine propelling us forward...they all sounded like peace to me.

There was something different about this return.

We soon pulled into the driveway of Michael’s, which winded only a short distance up to the garage, where my dad kept some forgotten workout machines and other collectibles. The house had white trimmed windows and weathered gray-brown cedar shingles that had lived through countless Washington rainstorms. Growing up, I always thought this house was too big for my dad to have as a single person. He spent so much time in the city, it hardly seemed logical, but I guessed that it was now the perfect size. Maybe he had always hoped I would help fill up the space.

John helped me pull my bags into the house through the rain, rubbing a hand over his short, salt-and-pepper hair once we had made it in. He let out a huff before laughing.

“Forgot how old I was getting for a second there.”

I laughed with him good-naturedly but denied it for his ego. “Nah, you’re fine.”

“Yeah, yeah. _Phew_ , okay, let’s get these up to your room,” he offered, yanking my bags up the stairs. Once I was all settled in, he and I made our way into the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“I guess I should make my way back home and make sure the boys are ready for tomorrow.” The twins, Miles and Tanner, were starting their freshman year, a fact I couldn’t seem to believe myself.

“I’m all good here if you wanna head out. Let the boys know that I wish them good luck if I don’t see them tomorrow.”

“Will do, kiddo. Tell your dad I’ll see him in the morning.”

I waved at him from the front door, watching as he reversed on to the street. The door clicked behind me and I released a heavy sigh.

_Home._

I bounded back up the stairs to my room, more worn out than my seventeen-year-old body should have felt.

I stopped at the doorway to my room, clutching the white frame. The walls of the bedroom were painted a soft gray-blue while white trimmings ran along the edges of the walls. The furniture was dark brown and modern, having been updated from the excessively girly, _pink_ room I used to have in the house. Thank God I’d mentioned the change in aesthetics come my fifteenth birthday. On my bed laid a fluffy white comforter with tiny robin’s egg blue and green leaves sprawling across it. I threw myself down on said leaves, staring up at the white ceiling fan as it spun round and round.

After a long day of being surrounded by one person or another, it was nice to be alone in the silence. Among the variety of only child traits I had accumulated throughout my childhood━the (mildly crippling) need to impress, a tendency toward perfectionism and generally getting along better with adults as opposed to other kids━finding time for myself was the one that I valued most.

I listened intently to the rain that pattered against the roof above me, allowing my eyes to close. _Maybe I’ll get used to this faster than I thought_ …

Some time later, my eyes sprung open to a partially dark room. I sat up quickly, catching my head when silver spots floated in front of my eyes. Grabbing my phone from beside me, I breathed out when I saw that it was only seven at night. I was afraid that I had slept the entire night through.

Imagine it: late for the first day of school. I shuddered at the idea.

After an hour of lazily sifting through my sweaters and the boxes we had shipped before I flew out, I finally felt like I was starting to settle in. Just the first task in a long list, but it made me breathe easier. I walked downstairs, only partially surprised to find that Michael hadn’t arrived home yet. At the very least, this meant that I could eat whatever I wanted for dinner.

Sitting cross-legged on the couch with a bowl of cereal in my lap, I flicked through the channels on TV and thumbed down my newsfeed on my phone; reading the statuses of people I realized I would most likely never see again. It was still surreal to think this was my home now, even if it was only for the rest of the year. It’d probably hit me eventually that this was real life and that I wouldn’t be hearing my mom’s voice coming from downstairs in the morning, but Michael’s instead. It would no longer be Ocean City High School that I’d be walking into, but Granite Falls’ very own. Zoe and Mia wouldn’t be sitting with me at lunch, but I would instead be making completely new friends… or at least I hoped I would.

After an hour or so, my ass dragged itself upstairs to start going through my drawers again, searching for something to wear on my first day. I decided on a short-sleeved white blouse with a lace strip across the chest and sleeves, and dark skinny jeans. Flips flops no longer seemed like a viable option in all of this rain, so tall boots it would be.

Once I had laid those over the white, high-backed leather chair in the corner of my room, I sat on my bed, pulled my battered copy of _Jitterbug Perfume_ out of my carry-on, and continued reading my bookmarked page.

_He excited her because he was as damned as she was, yet had no regrets._ I read that line for what seemed the thousandth time a few hours later when I heard the front door slam and someone cursing out the rain.

“Dad?” I yelled, looking up from my book then jumping off my bed. I hurried down the stairs and saw him standing there, looking the same age as he did last year and the ten years before that. My father always looked the same, even if his thick, once black hair was now salt-and-peppered. He smiled, his movie star face crinkling around the mouth and eyes, making him look even younger.

“Is that my _daughter_?” Michael exclaimed, throwing his coat down on the dark brown couch and opening his arms for a hug, which I gladly fell into. “My God, you‘re almost as tall as I am,” he pointed out, pulling away from the embrace; his eyes fell somewhere just above my hairline.

“Yeah, John said the exact same thing,” I explained, smiling and hugging him again.

“I bet you have him beat.”

“I do.”

“Atta girl.”

“So, Dad, how’s work been?”

“Fine, thanks. I, uh... actually just got signed onto this huge case, so, um... you won’t be seeing much of me these next few weeks,” he said, sighing a bit and tugging off the navy tie he must have loosened in the car.

“Oh yeah? Then I can totally throw a rager here with a hundred of my closest friends, right?” I joked, smiling at him.

“Oh, _yeah_ , that’d be just fine,” Michael replied.

“Sweet!” I exclaimed, chuckling. These were the moments I missed with my dad, and I was glad we could share them more often now.

“So, Brynn, have you eaten yet?” he asked, walking into the kitchen to get his own dinner started.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m good. I ate on the plane too,” I explained, sitting back down at the kitchen table.

“I thought you hated airplane food,” Michael said, glancing at me while he placed a couple slices of pizza in the oven.

“I do... sort of. It was actually alright this time around,” I replied. I was a bit surprised that he remembered that insignificant piece of information about me. It was always hard to know what my dad paid attention to and what he didn’t even acknowledge.

“Alright. Good. Well, tomorrow morning I have to be out the door by six so I probably won’t see you until tomorrow night… Most likely,” he continued, sitting across from me at the table.

“Oh. Okay,” I said, rationalizing that it was probably best for the both of us if he just avoided me the next day. The more time I had to calm myself down, the better.

“So, are you excited to be starting tomorrow?” Michael leaned on the counter, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

I released a breathy laugh and scratched behind my ear before replying, “Anxious is a better word.”

“You won’t have anything to worry about. You didn’t have any issues making friends back in New Jersey, right?”

“I mean… No, I guess not, but those were people that I’d known since I was _five_.” I noticed his face fall slightly and quickly went about editing my attitude. “Not that I’m not grateful for the chance to try out new things! It’s just intimidating.”

“Of course it is. But you’re a Sloane―You’ll be just fine.”

“I’m glad you have so much faith in our collective bloodline.”

I think he spent a moment considering the errant uncle and cousin before responding, “Okay, I should rephrase. You’re _my daughter,_ and probably more importantly your mother’s daughter. I don’t doubt that your sheer force of personality will take over.” I laughed again, conceding.

“Alright, alright. I’ll take your word for it, Dad.”

We continued playing catch up, talking about my new classes and his new cases amongst other subjects until it was late in the evening and I began to feel the weight of the day on my eyelids. I wished my dad sweet dreams before climbing the stairs.

I washed my face, pressing a scalding hot towel to my skin and breathing in deeply as the steam forced the stress out of my pores. I rested the damp cloth on the sink’s edge and looked at my reflection. A pair of pale blue eyes stared back at me, filled with determination.

_I’m sure_.

I repeated the mantra that had been playing like a broken record in my mind for the past few months. I allowed my shoulders to sink and rolled my head in a circle, eyes closed. I had to remind myself that this was all going to be okay; that this is what I needed. This is where life needed me to be.

I climbed into bed and situated myself beneath the covers which had been absent for many, many months. Laying there in the silence, I breathed in and out slowly, trying to release the anxiety of starting over while taking in whatever good things were waiting for me in the future.

I sounded like my mother.

“Breathe in the good,” she would say, bound in her yoga clothes and seated on the sand. “Exhale the bad. Breathe so you can think, Brynny.”

_Breathe so you can think,_ I repeated, hands covering my eyes as I let out an extended sigh. My hands then ran back through my hair, each strand lacing its way around my fingers for a brief moment before my hands fell to my sides.

_It’s all going to be okay._

_New is good._

_Different is okay._

_This is where you need to be._

With that last thought, I allowed my eyes to slide shut and I fell into a deep slumber.

 

**.** **.** **.**

 

The next morning, I woke up at 6:30 and acknowledged that my dad was, in fact, already gone for the day. I searched through the cabinets and made myself some oatmeal, then absent mindedly munched on an apple while watching the news.

After getting dressed in the outfit I had chosen the night before, I ran a straightener over the waves that had made an appearance overnight. A little bit of eyeshadow, a flick of black eyeliner, and a swipe of stain on my lips later, I was ready for the day. I checked myself in the mirror once more before grabbing my navy field jacket and bag, then headed downstairs.

The keys to the car that my dad had given me rested on the kitchen counter. Truth be told, the brand new black Honda had come into my possession after quite a lot of protestation on my part. Michael had assured me that it was the least he could do, but this didn’t stop me from feeling guilty for all the things my father was giving me without a second thought. I supposed it was better to be grateful than to harp on his generosity. It also meant that I didn’t have to wait for a bus so… who was I to complain?

The engine roared to life when I turned the key and after I ran my hands over the leather of the steering wheel and the metal of the insignia, I backed out of the driveway and sped toward my new life.

I pulled into the school parking lot, acknowledging the fact that I received quite a few looks from other students. _Maybe_ my car didn’t exactly fit in with the pickup trucks and Jeeps that filled the lot. I could feel myself awkwardly creeping along until I found my way into a small spot towards the rear of the lot.

After cutting the engine and sliding out of my car, I stared up at the brick exterior of Granite Falls High School, with its many white paned windows looking back at me. _Here goes nothing_ , I thought as I tugged my jacket tight around my body, and walked out into the light rain. Again, I received a wave of stares, but now I knew that it was not just because of my car.

I could only presume that this was because I was Mr. Big-Man-in-Town’s prodigal daughter returned.

_Grand,_ I thought sarcastically, frowning just as I heard a car roar into the parking spot that was in front of me. It took me a second before I realized that the car I now faced was absolutely stunning. It was a black Audi, easily recognizable by four circle emblem on the grill. The windows were tinted to the point of almost complete darkness and the lithe curves and bends of the car made it look like something out of the future. I shook my head a couple times before turning away and heading to class, ridding my mind of the car. I walked into the small front office and saw a stout, plump woman sitting behind the counter, her platinum blonde hair pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck.

“Hi, um, my name is Brynn Sloane,” I greeted her, “I just moved here to live with my dad and I-”

“Oh! You’re Michael’s daughter!” she exclaimed. _I knew it._ “My husband has worked with your father. I’m Ms. Livingston.”

“Oh, cool. Awesome. Nice to meet you. Uh, so is there anything I need to do today? I know I need to pick up my schedule here and stuff but I wasn’t sure if I needed anything else,” I told her.

“Well, you’re right about the schedule,” she answered, pulling a sheet from a folder beside her.  “And I’m going to give you a piece of paper that I want each of your teachers to sign. Just return it to me by the end of the day, alright?” she replied. She seemed like a sweet woman, especially compared to some of the harpies that had worked in my old school’s guidance department.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Have a nice day then!”

Once I had finally found my first class of the day, about two minutes after the bell rang, I hesitantly found my way up to the teacher, Mr. Barnes, jacket slung over my arm. After an incredibly brief introduction, I took a seat beside a girl who was easily a head and a half shorter than me and pretty in a way that would make her an easy pick for a Disney Channel casting director. She sent a bright, dimpled smile up in my direction and tossed her dark, just-past-the-shoulder length hair behind her.

“You’re Mr. Sloane’s daughter, Brynn, right?” she asked in a high-pitched voice.

I’d have to get used to that being my first impression. “Yup. _That’s_ me.”

“Nice to meet you,” she replied. “My name’s Anna Reid.”

I took her offered hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you too.” I leaned down to grab the copy of Macbeth that had been assigned to us over the summer. I had been surprised that a book that I had read in sophomore year English class had been assigned to this school’s seniors. Regardless, I was thankful that I had gotten away with just reading through my annotations on the flight to Seattle as a refresher.

Mr. Barnes was going about handing out the syllabus, so Anna took what little time we had to ask me, “So wait, where did you move from?”

“New Jersey, about an hour south of Philadelphia on the coast,” I explained.

“Oh... I’m surprised you’re not like… super tan?”

I laughed, regrettably knowing exactly what she was referencing. “Yeah, I’m from the shore, just not _the_ Jersey Shore.”

“Gotcha. Well if you need any help getting to your next class, let me know!” she stage-whispered as our teacher walked down our aisle. I nodded, smiling back at her just before turning my attention onto a certain Scottish king.

After class, I walked out into the hallway with Anna, who I supposed had now designated herself as my tour guide. I had been absent-mindedly skimming down my list of classes; only a moment after my eyes hit the words _Physical Education_ , the paper was whisked out of my fingers. I blinked once then turned to see Anna doing her own scan.

“You and I have a bunch of the same classes!” she exclaimed, looking down again to verify this.

“Oh. Awesome, uh…. What do we have next?”

“Ugh, calculus. At least we can suffer together. C’mon.”

I walked alongside Anna to the math classroom and as she waved at people in the hallway and off-handedly rattled off the different clubs she was in, I quickly gathered that she was what most people would consider... popular.

_It_ can’t _be this easy_ , I thought to myself.

When we had gotten into Ms. Fuller’s class, Anna waited for me to get my paper signed then walked towards two empty seats in front of a lanky blond boy who immediately smiled at the two us.

“Hey Anna, who’s your friend?” he asked in a tenor voice, shifting his brown eyes directly to me.

“Matt, this is Brynn. She just moved here from New Jersey, so I’m showing her around.”

“Matt Flagler. Very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I replied, politely returning his smile.

“So, Brynn, do you run track? We’ve been looking for a new high jumper.”

I let out a sharp laugh before quickly editing myself when his face fell. “No, no, it’s just that organized sports and I don’t really get along.”

“Too bad,” he replied, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re tall enough for the job.”

“Trust me, the crew team in Ocean City tried to recruit me all three years of high school. It’s nothing personal.”

“Sure, yeah… Well, glad to have you here regardless.” I watched his eyes scan over me once more.

I let one eyebrow sneak up my forehead for half a beat.“Glad to be here.” With that, I slid into the seat to Anna’s left.

Matt and another boy from class, Andy, had followed us to history, chatting with Anna about their last couple weeks of summer. I didn’t want to jinx it by saying anything but it just felt like they hadn’t thought twice before allowing me to tag along. Was it really as simple as sitting next to the right person for me to get the Granite Falls High School stamp of approval?

I couldn’t even thank my sheer force of personality for this one.

The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion: Anna introduced me to a gaggle of her friends that she had in our history class and waited up for me after French, having split off to go to the Spanish classroom. She was standing talking to a blonde with a thin button nose, who was only slightly taller than herself. The girl’s green eyes sparked when she looked up at me.

“Wow! Anna wasn’t kidding when she said that you’re really pretty.” My eyes had widened and I was acutely aware of the blush that crossed the bridge of my nose.

“T-Thank you, um...so are you.” She really was, although _adorable_ was a word that came closer to the front of my mind.

“Oh thanks! I’m Kristen, by the way.”

It should be noted that, once we became friends, I would quickly come to realize that Kristen was one of the most bluntly, continuously _kind_ human beings on this planet.

In the lunchroom, we had all taken a seat at a table towards the center of the room, joined by Matt, Andy, as well as another dark-haired boy who turned out to be Kristen’s boyfriend, Tom. He quickly pecked her on the cheek before returning his bespectacled attention to his copy of _Macbeth_ , which had as many notes scribbled in the margins as my own.

While Anna inspected the back of a granola bar, Kristen asked me, “So, Brynn, are you planning on signing up for any clubs?”

I was very much aware that the rest of the table had now turned their eyes on me.

“Uh, well, I’m not sure yet. I was on the student council and vice president of French Club back in Ocean City.”

Anna’s head perked up. “You should be on the council here! We’re always looking for new members since no one seems to care about whether or not prom gets properly planned.”

“O _-kay_ Madame President, calm down,” Matt said, looking between Anna and I. “Who knows if Miss New Jersey here cares that much about streamer colors.” Anna scoffed and smacked his shoulder.

“I mean, I care about making sure things are done well,” I replied. “I’ll be at the first meeting, Anna.”

“ _See,_ Matthew? _Somebody_ cares.”

Ah. She liked him.

They all went about complaining about their new classes, how we already had assignments due in a couple weeks and collectively wondering if the one gym teacher who had been forced to take on the health class would continue to avoid using any scientific terms when referring to the human anatomy.

As I ate my lunch, I glanced around the room, bouncing from table to table until my eyes fell on one near the back doors.

I could feel my eyebrows reach towards my hair.

Sitting at the small, circular table were quite possibly the most beautiful people I had ever seen in my life. Every one of them had skin just a shade paler than mine, which may have suggested that they were all related, but they all looked... different.

One of the two girls had long, deep chestnut-colored hair that curled at the middle of her back. She had dainty features and perfectly thick eyebrows that showed her every emotion as she spoke to the guy to her left. He was elegantly but not overtly handsome, with curly, dirty blonde hair sticking out above a set of high cheekbones and thin but lovely mouth.

The other girl at the table had her pale, white gold hair cut to her shoulder and resembled… Well not a Barbie, I decided, but something far more beautiful. Something you see in a museum. Her beauty almost made me uncomfortable; she was _too_ perfect. Beside her, with his arm around her shoulders, was her male opposite. Where she was lithe, light-haired and entirely feminine, this guy had to be twice her width and more than half a foot taller; he pushed his wavy, dark hair up at the front with his free hand. He had a jawline set in stone and I was almost entirely sure that he didn’t belong in high school.

If I hadn’t been staring by then, I was almost transfixed by the final person in the group. He was resting his elbows against the table, ignoring his food and watching the others talk. His short, milk chocolate hair was in a state of slight disarray above his glorious face, which was really the only way to describe it. His eyes were hooded and long-lashed, his nose was straight and strong (my mind immediately and... _strangely_ told me it looked like Paul Newman’s), and his lips could only be described as kissable. He pulled his full bottom lip down slightly with his thumb as he listened.

Shit, his face was downright _godly_ , save for the signs of exhaustion that marked it. He shifted his wonderfully wide shoulders that were hidden beneath a gray henley before rubbing the back of his neck. He continued to look at the small brunette with nearly pitch black eyes.

“Who are _they_?” I questioned Anna, whispering in her ear and pointing discreetly at the table.

“Who?” She paused before noticing my line of sight. “Oh, _them_ . I  knew it wouldn’t be long before you asked,” Anna replied, also eyeing the table. “The blonde is named Gwen, and the brunette is Ella. Then the guys are Frank, Terry, and of course, _Adam_ ,” she said dreamily, seeming to fade into a land where Adam’s face was plastered on each passing cloud.

“Adam is the one with the lighter brown hair, right?” I asked, sneaking another glance.

“Yep. But I wouldn’t try anything with him. He apparently doesn’t find us _normal_ folk all that appealing, unlike his sisters,” she said, sniffling.

“Wait. Wait.” My brain seemed to lurch to a halt for a moment. “They’re _related_?” I asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Well, no. They’re all adopted. Frank and Gwen’s actual last name is Hunt, since they’re twins, but their foster parents changed it to Wood. Their father is a doctor nearby and their mom stays at home.” Anna scooted closer to me on her chair, dropping her voice to a whisper. “The weird thing is… they‘re, like… _Together_.”

“Together?” I echoed.

“ _Yeah_. Like…. Dating. Ella and Frank...Gwen and Terry. It‘s so strange. I mean, they live in the same house… I can’t even begin to imagine how that works out.” She shrugged, but it looked a bit more like a shudder.

“Oh. Uh,” I blanched, looking sideways at the table again, regretting it instantly. When I did look, I was caught by the intensely black eyes of Adam, who had a look on his face of great confusion. _Shit, shit, shit_ , I thought rapidly, looking back at my table before I got lost in his eyes. “That’s… Yeah. That’s a bit odd.”

“A _bit_?”

One of the girls―the small one―stood up to throw out her untouched lunch and Adam followed her lead. Actually, now that I really thought about it, none of them had looked as if they had bothered with their food the entire period.

Lunch was over soon enough and I followed Matt to our physics class, one of the few classes I didn’t have with Anna. When I got there, I introduced myself to the teacher, Mr. Barbato, a tall man with thinning ash blonde hair, then stood like an idiot while he pointed me to a seat. A seat right next to Adam Wood.

Just my luck.

I nervously walked over to the table and sat down in the empty seat to his right and noticed the furtive glance he gave me. His black eyes looked me up and down before facing forward, his body ramrod straight in his chair. I saw his hand clench into a fist on the table and flinched.

Everything about his taut stance said _stay away_ and I planned to do just that. I sat far from him, and he mirrored my action. I watched his jaw clench and release again and again throughout the class, making me nervous. _Was he sick? Was he angry? Was he thinking about my fucking_ stupid _lingering glances?_

The class ended before I realized time had passed and just as I stood up, Adam speed-walked of the room, moving fast enough to be considered for the track team. Matt sauntered up to me with a puzzled look on his face.

“Did you stab Wood with your pencil or something?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I didn’t do anything. Has he ever acted like that?” I asked, following him out of the classroom and to our last class of the day, gym.

“No, he usually is alright. Quiet, but not deadly. I don’t know what you did, but I wouldn’t do it again,” Matt advised.

“I didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed once more, but for the rest of the walk I didn’t mention the little scene. I parted from Matt and headed into the girls’ locker room to get changed.

As I changed into my white tee and navy shorts, I couldn’t help but notice that the girls around me were sending side glances in an effort to scope out the new girl in town, or at least that’s what I thought. However, when I walked out of the locker room and into the gym, I got the feeling that the girls weren’t so much scoping me out out of curiosity, but maybe because they were just vaguely jealous, something that was confirmed by the looks I got from the guys in class. Every time I decided to get involved in the slightest (I was never one for gym class), I could nearly feel twenty pairs of eyes following me.

_Seriously_.

Thankfully, that class ended just as quickly and I ran into the locker room, changed back into my clothes, and then sprinted to the front office where I stopped short.

Adam was leaning against the counter, talking to Ms. Livingston in a hushed tone. Everything about him really was perfect―his voice was deep and smooth, almost honeyed. He stopped talking suddenly, stood straight and looked at me over his shoulder. He scowled and mumbled a goodbye to Ms. Livingston, who looked rather flustered. As he passed me, I realized that he was tall; much taller than six foot. My knees felt unsteady.

“Uh, Ms. Livingston? Here’s that paper you wanted me to get signed,” I said, carefully placing it on the counter in front of her blushing face.

“Oh, thank you, Brynn. I hope you had a wonderful day,” she replied, straightening up in her chair, taking the slip and saying goodbye to me.

I walked out into the light rain and saw Adam racing into his car.

Let me rephrase: his fucking piece of art.

It was the Audi from earlier and I stood, gaping as his siblings joined him at the car. I should have known he would have a perfect car. It was a beautiful machine for a beautiful guy―I should have guessed it the moment I saw him. I shook my head quickly, water falling off my jacket on to the ground, then quickly scurried over to my own car, opening the door and collapsing inside of it.

What a _fucking_ day.

I drove home and found the house empty yet again, and was glad for it. A quiet space was just what my anxious mood needed.

New town, new school, new beautiful boy desperate to get away from me.

_Cool_.

I sat at the kitchen table, listening to music as torrents of rain poured down on the roof. I calmed my breathing as I became more focused on my homework, scribbling down notes for an outline that was going to be due in a few days for my history class. School was and always had been something easy for me, something that could distract me from anything that was rattling around in my mind. However, I wasn’t so lucky to be loaded down with much of anything to do and so my mind wandered… To a certain black-eyed boy.

I shouldn’t have been thinking about him at all, seeing as he apparently hated my guts, but I just couldn’t… _not_ think about him. He was the kind of guy every girl wishes she’ll see in her lifetime and I got to sit right next to him every day for the rest of the year.

The question was: was that a good thing?


	2. Changes

_ Here we go again. _

My second day at Granite Falls High was much more normal than the first had been. I knew where I was going most of the day and my new friends were actually turning out to be my saving grace. I also didn’t get as many stares as I had the day before, since I imagined that I was no longer the shiny new student everyone wanted to talk about. I did still catch the sideways glances of some of the girls and even a nod of what I guess was approval from a guy. 

The most disappointing part of the day, however, was that Adam Wood was nowhere to be seen. When I arrived at the lunch room, I looked around the space and allowed my eyes to fall upon the rest of the Wood siblings, but only their beautiful brother was missing. I pouted slightly, not knowing why I did, and then sat next to Anna at our table. 

Kristen was overflowing with news of a shopping spree she was taking soon and she asked if Anna and I wanted to join her in going to Seattle. Anna groaned over her apparent desperation for new clothes, claiming she had absolutely nothing to wear any more (which I had to imagine wasn’t true). Regardless, I agreed to go with them, grateful enough that I was being included so seamlessly into this group of people. 

I glanced at the Woods once more and saw that the dark-haired sprite, Ella, was looking at me, her face with a thoughtful appearance. What was it with that family and their problem with me? I did nothing to them unless…  _ Shit, did my dad do something?  _ I thought. No, he couldn’t have. My dad was a truly nice guy, always fair in his lawsuits and friendly to his clients. I folded my arms across my chest, and stared down at my half eaten piece of pizza. Anna noticed my sullen look and snuck a look at the Wood table. 

“Huh, I wonder why Adam isn’t here. He’s usually only gone on sunny days,” Anna said, tilting her head in wonder.

“Why only on sunny days?” I asked, curious.

“Apparently the family is obsessed with hiking. They go into the Olympic mountains whenever it’s sunny out. I swear to God, they’re like the opposite of vampires–where there’s sun, there’s the Woods. They still manage to stay pale as hell, for whatever reason.”

“Oh. That’s… weird,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, I know, but that’s a rare occasion here in Granite Falls so they usually get to grace us with their beauty.” Anna sighed.

“Well, aren’t we the lucky ones,” Matt quipped from his seat, scowling slightly. It was becoming apparent that Matt did, in fact, have a bit of a crush on Anna as well and didn’t appreciate her pining. She, of course, failed to hear his comment and continued babbling on throughout the rest of lunch about this person and that teacher, which certainly helped me catch up on the school’s news. 

The next few days passed in the same fashion: Adam was nowhere to be found, the Beautiful Table occupied by the rest of his siblings. I started to contemplate that he’d dropped out of school to get away from me, but I knew that would be ridiculous. Maybe he was just sick – He had looked wiped out when I’d first seen him, with those dark circles under his eyes. 

Yes, that had to be it. 

Totally. 

. . .

 

I woke three weeks later on Monday, dreary-eyed and flustered. I’d refuse to admit it to anyone else, but my dreams had been haunted by a pair of black eyes for what must have been a twelfth night. 

I didn’t have the energy to straighten my hair and having washed it the night before, soft waves bounced around my eyes as I dragged myself into my car and drove off towards school. 

Anna curled her finger around one wave as we leaned against her car hood, saying, “You should wear your hair like this more often. You look so  _ beachy _ .” I thanked her, even though I preferred my hair straight far more often, which was when I realized just how vapid I sounded.

_ Oh yes, my hair isn’t perfectly perfect because I was up tossing and turning trying to figure out why a boy didn’t like me. Jesus fucking Christ, pull yourself together. _

We pushed off her hood just as the first bell rang and were making our way through the busy courtyard when we saw the Woods― _ all _ of them―goofing around in a corner. 

There he was, finally back after weeks of pulling a disappearing act. 

But Adam was… different. His skin remained a shade or two lighter than mine but his cheeks looked more flushed and healthy, the dark shadows under his eyes had receded and his full lips were pulled back in a full-fledged, gleaming-toothed smile as he laughed at something Gwen had said. There was even a twinkle in his incredibly bright blue eyes. 

_ Wait. _

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, thinking that maybe there had been a trick of the light but when I looked back at him, his eyes were the same shade of lapis as he shifted them between Gwen and Frank. Half a beat later, his eyes had turned on me, forcing me to send my gaze towards the sidewalk.

One day, I’d learn not to stare.

I continued walking alongside Matt and Anna, trying to fall back into conversation but they seemed to be just as aware of Adam’s reappearance as I was.

“Damn― I was starting to think that Wood was dead,” Matt commented, looking back over his shoulder as we entered the front doors.

“He looks  _ way  _ better than he did when he left,” Anne countered. “Maybe he had mono or something.”

Mono would explain his generally deflated appearance on the first day of school, but it didn’t explain how his eyes could be two vastly different colors. I chose not to point this out because neither of them seemed too concerned by this sudden change, but it remained in the back of my thoughts.

Save for Adam’s return, the rest of the day went on as per usual: a quiz in English, an oral presentation in French, Kristen and Anna flanking me at lunch and a few stolen glances to the back of the room. The only difference was the additional occupant at my table in Physics.

I quietly slid onto my stool beside Adam, shifting through my bag in search of the homework that we had due. A soft clearing of the throat beside me made me lift my head.

He had positioned himself ever so slightly in my direction, shoulders relaxed and a smile dimpling one side of his face.  _ God,  _ he was handsome. 

“Sorry― it’s Brynn, right?” he asked, fixing his blue eyes on mine. My bottom lip dropped for a second before I found my words once again.

“Yeah, and you’re… Adam?” I hesitated as if his name hadn’t been floating around in the back of my brain for the better part of the last month.

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself on your first day.” His voice remained just as honeyed and low as I remembered it being.

“Oh no, it’s fine.” It really  _ hadn’t  _ been but I would never say as much. "I know you’ve been out for a while so I figured you weren’t feeling well.”

“Ah, yes,” he started, reaching to rub the back of his neck. “Found out that I had a pretty nasty case of mono and my father didn’t want me coming back to school until I was completely healthy.”

“So, you’ve got a clean bill of health now?” I asked, pulling my hair over my shoulder. I couldn’t even tell where the words were coming from at this point; they were just sounds that made me seem like a normal person.

He let out a short laugh before replying, “Yes, I feel much more human now. But how’re you liking Granite Falls so far?”

“I’m, uh… Actually really enjoying it, which is… nice?”

“It sounds as if you weren’t expecting to.” Adam had cocked his head and shifted in his chair slightly.

“No! I mean, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I moved― just that it was something different. I wasn’t sure what it’d be like to be the new kid for the first time,” I answered. 

“I have a good deal of experience in that department, so I understand.”

“Did you move a lot before coming here?”

His eyes flicked down to the table then back to meet mine. “A few times since I was younger. It’s what happens when your new father is finishing up his residency then picking which hospital he likes most.”

_ New father.  _ Right, he was adopted. 

The part about his father’s residency caught me a bit more, however. Christ, his parents must have been  _ young _ .

“Oh, then you’re the expert on being the new person in school.”

Adam laughed before replying, “I wouldn’t necessarily say  _ expert _ , but I know how it can feel. It seems like you’re doing just fine, though.”

I shifted my own eyes down to my lap, breathing a laugh through my nose. “I guess so, even though it sometimes feels like it shouldn’t have been so easy.”

“With a personality likes yours, I’d say it would be plenty easy.” My eyebrows shot towards my hairline as I looked up at him once more. “If… If you don’t mind me saying so. You seem like the kind of person that people want to like.” 

Before I even got a chance to respond, Mr. Barbato made an event of clearing his throat and telling everyone to settle down before launching into the class’ agenda. My eyebrows hadn’t even lowered as I turned back to look down at the desk. 

If I didn’t specifically remember waking up that morning, I’d venture to say this was all a dream. 

I was curious as to how he could form such an opinion of me after weeks of being M.I.A. but maybe I’d developed a reputation around school that was worth talking about. It felt like I’d been in hyperdrive most of the time, subconsciously taking cues from the friendliest person I knew: my mother. She was always smiling and asking people about themselves, so I tried my best to do the same. 

This was what moving to a new school had been about. I wanted to create an image that aligned with who I was now, as opposed to a gangly thirteen-year-old teacher’s pet with a wide variety of fandom memorabilia. 

Granted, I was still a perfectionist with a few fanfictions bookmarked on my computer but at the very least I had figured out my hair.

Regardless, everyone at Granite Falls High School had become well acquainted with the most effervescent part of my personality and maybe this fact had gotten to Adam through the grapevine. His comment had been far from critical; in fact, it was the nicest compliment that I had received since moving out to Washington. 

I snuck a glance at him every so often throughout class. He oscillated between looking out the window at the rain that had begun to fall and taking the odd note about something Mr. Barbato emphasized. His expression was that of someone who was either spectacularly bored or otherwise preoccupied, which wasn’t entirely unrelatable. We  _ were _ in high school, after all.

I was still struck, however, by the electric blue of his eyes, closer to cobalt than the onyx I had been dreaming about the last few weeks. Had he really been so sick that the color had dimmed? Had a virus been able cancel out the small gold flecks that I acknowledged as I passed him a paper handout? Maybe it had been the three weeks worth of sleep that had brought the light back to them; it’d certainly explain why he didn’t look nearly as exhausted now.

In general, the time had done  _ wonders  _ on his overall presence. Every part of his appearance sang the tune of a strong, all-American boy and where I had felt on edge sitting beside him on my first day, there was now a pleasant hum in the air.

Without my realizing it, the bell rang, cueing the students to leave. I shook my head quickly and watched as Adam fluidly got up from the table, said that he’d see me later, and whisked out of the room.

“You good?” I heard Matt ask from beside me; he must have noticed my agape mouth. 

“Y-yeah.” I stood, hastily putting away my folder. I did my best to act as if I had been distracted by anything other than Adam, quickly breaking into conversation about our history project. 

I was soon jogging laps around the square area of the gym, feeling the familiar jab in my ribs as I regulated my breathing. I couldn’t stand this kind of torture – running in circles was never my forte and I would much rather be swimming or attempting to hike, despite my tendency towards clumsiness. The combination of weaknesses was, however, the reason I stumbled and caught my balance just as Kristen and Anna jogged past me. 

“God, I fucking hate laps,” I grumbled, kneeling down to fix my lace that had come loose.

“I don’t get it,” Kristen chirped, tightening her ponytail as we fell into step with each other, walking the rest of the lap. “You say things like that – meanwhile, you’re prancing around like this tall, graceful gazelle.” I made a forced laugh sound and rolled my eyes. I wasn’t able to fully control the blush on my cheeks though.

“Graceful isn’t a word that comes to mind when describing myself but  _ okay _ ,” I responded, laying a thick layer of sarcasm on the last word. 

The class finally ended and I gathered my things, checked my makeup in the mirror then headed out into the parking lot, thanking my lucky stars that it was the last class of the day. The clouds had held up all day, not letting rain escape from them.

I walked up to my car and saw the vehicle parked next to it. 

A black Audi. 

With Adam Wood leaning on it. 

I breathed out slowly as I opened the door. 

“Wait, Brynn!” Adam exclaimed, suddenly appearing right next to my window. He rested his hand on the top of my car, leaning ever so slightly towards me so that I was standing between him and my open door. “I was wondering maybe if you could ask your father for a favor. My dad needed to ask him about a medical case that he and his chief of medicine have been arguing about. If you could tell him Simon needs some help and would appreciate a call from him, that would be great,” Adam explained, his cool, minty breath making me dizzy.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. I can do that for you,” I agreed, smiling at him, 

“Fantastic,” he said, pulling out a small, white card. A number was written in a shiny silver font, impeccably designed. I took the card from Adam and inspected it before looking back up at him, taken aback by his sheer beauty. “That’s Simon’ cell number so your father won’t have to worry about getting through the front desk at the hospital.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to give this to him,” I replied, pocketing the number.

“Perfect.”

“So I guess I’ll see you around?” I said, fiddling with my keys.

Adam nodded, saying, “You will. Thanks for doing that, Brynn.” 

“No problem at all.” There was one part of my brain that went against my better sensibilities by thinking,  _ I’d do a lot of things for this guy, no problem whatsoever.  _ He smiled at me before waving; I watched as he climbed into the driver's seat and zoomed out of the parking lot.

Later, after a drive spent with a puzzled face, I laid Simon Wood’s business card on the glass countertop in the kitchen with a Post-It note describing its use for my dad to find. I sat at the table, scrolling through the playlists on my Spotify and finally deciding on one. I finished my light homework load far too quickly and with nothing else to do but wander around my father’s large house, I went into the living room and flung myself down on the couch.

_ Mindless television should take my mind off things _ , I thought,  _ things  _ decidedly meaning a certain, suddenly friendly boy. I sprawled out for what felt like quite a long time and finally at seven o’clock, I hauled myself back off the couch and into the kitchen to cook dinner. I set the table for one, the leftovers from the salad finding a spot in the fridge for my dad to pick at when he finally got home. I sat, eating and listening to the faint pitter-patter of the rain on the roof. 

Afterwards, when pans had been scrubbed and my jeans still had remnants of wiped hands on them, I stretched out on my bed. I allowed myself a moment to acknowledge the change of heart that had occured in the last three weeks. I much preferred being on this side of Adam’s mood; the side of my personality that was desperate to please unclenched after close to a month of fretting. 

I knew that I was only doing his dad a favor but the transaction had felt more like an olive branch than anything else. 

_ You seem like the kind of person that people want to like. _ I’d caught Ella speaking to him during one of my quick looks at lunch that day. Had she been the one to tell him as much? I had been doing whatever I could to endear myself to the rest of the Woods whenever possible, which wasn’t frequently. It wasn’t that they were directly unfriendly to everyone else. They simply kept to themselves and conveniently had totally opposite schedules from mine. Still, I made sure I smiled whenever any of us crossed paths. Ella graciously returned a small smile of her own just the week before, which had made me worry a lot less about it being a familial hatred.  

I let out a long breath, closing my eyes and focusing on the sound of my slowly turning ceiling fan. An olive branch was enough for me, but a girl could dream that it had meant something more. 

I gasped awake the next morning, still dressed in my clothes from the day before. Clearly my dad had been in to check on me as a thick blanket had been draped across the bed, but he was already gone when I came down the stairs. More and more, his absence during the mornings or nights was something I was getting accustomed to. 

Living with him was almost like living by myself. 

I did my makeup while sitting cross-legged on the couch, listening to that morning’s news. It sometimes felt ridiculous that I even cared so much about the little things happening in my life when there was just  _ so much _ going on in the world. I knew I couldn’t solve everything, and I knew that my worries were still valid, but I’d be damned if I didn’t try in some capacity to make a difference.

I pulled into the space behind Anna’s old Jeep Wrangler on the side of the parking lot and turned off the engine. I yawned deeply as I climbed out of my car. It had gotten quite a bit colder overnight than I had expected and the clouds above had deposited an ocean of puddles on the ground the night before. I grumbled at the thought of the approaching winter, since I considered it to be the most godforsaken season, as I began sifting through my bag on the hood of my car, in search of my notebook and headphones.

Once plugged into my phone, the lyrics to a Head and the Heart song waltzed their way into my ears. I glanced across the parking lot and my eyes were captured by the gaze of a certain tall, gloriously handsome boy. His strangely sapphire eyes didn’t skitter away as was the habit of most people. One side of his mouth tweaked upwards before he turned his head to speak to Gwen, who was grabbing something out of the back of his car. She responded shortly, tossing her shoulder length, white gold hair behind her before walking toward the school with Terry. Adam’s eyes found mine again before he too shouldered his backpack and turned his back on me.

_ He wasn’t talking about you, no, not at all _ , I told myself, rustling through my bag once more for my pack of gum.  _ What he, a model, said to Gwen, his model sister, had absolutely nothing to do with you. Or, maybe he was confessing his  _ deeply _ secret crush on you―who knows? _

While I had an internal conversation debating exactly what it was Adam had said to his sister,  I was completely unaware of the large pickup truck that had taken a misguided turn around the corner in order to avoid another car; it was now very rapidly on its way to make scrap metal out of the both of myself and my car. It was only until it was too late did I turn my head and find myself paralyzed with fear. 

What happened in the following seconds seemed to occur at the speed of a funeral march.

In the first second, all I could hear was the screeching of brakes and tires against asphalt. The next slow second, I was being pushed to the ground, my hands scraping against the gravel as I caught myself. When I looked up only a blink later, I was greeted by the face of Adam Wood, looking down at me for all of another split second before he struck his arm out straight to the side; I screamed and watched as the side of the truck buckled in on itself around Adam’s hand. The truck stopped dead in its tracks.

I felt Adam lace his arm around my waist as he rushed out a whisper. “Brynn? Are you alright? Are you hurt?” 

He gingerly lifted my arm over his shoulders so he could help me stand up. I figured I might have smacked my head on the way down, but I was in too much shock to notice if anything was wrong. I was alive, so that was enough for me.

“Y-yeah… I think I’m okay. Adam, how the hell did you-” I started before being cut short by a rush of students and school officials, who were all frantically asking questions and soon I felt his arm unwrap itself from my waist as he stood back from the circus that had gathered. The eyes of those around me continued to wander over my body to check for any bumps or scratches or, you know, anything fatal seeing as I was supposed to be in the middle of a car sandwich at that moment. They asked me a hundred variations of the same question that Adam had rushed out and I answered in the same plain tone, my eyes never leaving him, as he backed away and sat on the curb twenty feet away. He held his head with one hand, staring at the ground until his fair-haired brother nudged him on the shoulder. Mumbled words―one of which clearly being  _ Simon _ ―were passed between the two of them and, with far less inspection than I was receiving, Adam followed Frank to his car.

How could he have done that? 

No one could have bent that truck the way it was without using a sledgehammer or, alternatively, a small bulldozer. 

It all happened so  _ quickly _ .

_ It’s just not physically possible  _ played on a loop in my brain as I was escorted to the nurse’s office. I had scrapes on the palms of my hands and a little bit of a headache from hitting the side of my car on the way down, but otherwise I was fine, just like I had told them. The short, brunette nurse insisted that I rest for a while, and it was until I laid down that I became completely aware of how physically tiring fear could be. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out for what must have been more than one class period. 

I opened my eyes and while my pulse had slowed, the shock was harder to sleep off. I listened in a haze as I was told to take a couple of Advil for my head and given ointment for my hands. When I walked back out of the nurse’s office, I saw Anna running towards me, arms outstretched, before she pulled me into a surprisingly tight hug.

“Oh my God, Brynn! I thought you might be dead! Thank God that Adam got you out of there so quickly.” She rambled on, but I only heard those first three sentences before the rest were blanked out by my continued thought process.

How  _ had _ he done it? It wasn’t like I wasn’t extremely grateful that he had saved me, but the way he had saved me was more than impossible. I found myself shaking my head repeatedly throughout the day, trying to make sense of my rescue. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had taken over my body, a feeling that was telling me that I deserved an explanation… That Adam had quite a lot of explaining to do. 

_ But where to begin with this hero of mine? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I had to do it to em.


	3. Questions

When I got home that afternoon, I realized that I had a panicked voicemail from Michael, asking if I was okay and telling me to call him. I sighed before dialing, dreading the barrage of questions that were just going to be echoes of all that I had been asked throughout the day. I talked my dad down, promised him that I was okay and concussion-less, and that, no, transferring to a private school wouldn’t keep me from getting hit by rogue cars. Once I convinced him that all was fine with me, as shaken up as I still was about the whole thing, he told me he’d be home late and said there was money on the counter so I could order pizza or something.

I plopped down on the couch and held my head in my hands for a few moments. I still hadn’t come to terms with my unorthodox rescue.

Adam had been standing across the parking lot. There was no way he could have been beside me in the five seconds it took for it all to happen. 

I thought of the huge dent in the side of Ben Halliday’s truck and how he had rushed as many apologies as possible before I was taken to the nurse. That was going to cost him a pretty penny… Or maybe he should have sent the bill over to the Wood residence. I had watched Adam strong arm his way through the metal as if it were plastic wrap; no amount of weight lifting could begin to explain that.

I got up from the couch and walked over to the french doors that opened up to the forest behind my dad’s house. I stared out at the seemingly endless green landscape and gray clouds that were now spilling out tiny drops of rain onto Granite Falls. I tapped the window with my bent forefinger and watched as the glass fogged under my breath.

Thoughts were flying through my head so quickly that it was difficult to even hang on to one long enough to fully form an idea. My imagination made a few supernatural suggestions but I made myself stop at that point.

I sighed and turned away from the window just as my phone pinged beside me. I picked it up and was greeted by a text from Mia. It was then that I realized I hadn’t been nearly good enough at staying in touch as I had meant to be.  _ Whoops _ . 

_ Are you alive?  _ was her question, and I found myself releasing a sharp huff of a laugh at the irony.

_ Still alive _ \-  _ sorry I’m the worst,  _ I responded,  _ but Mia… I need to tell you about this guy.  _ There were only so many words I could say that wouldn’t give up my apprehension about Adam, but it felt weird to not say everything and anything to one of my best friends. 

My phone rang almost immediately after the read receipt appeared on the screen.

“Details. Right now,” Mia demanded; I could imagine a judgmental hand placed on a jutting hip as if I were I standing there with her.

“ _ Well _ …” I started. “Okay, his name is Adam. He’s… He’s perfect. Seriously. But…” I paused. “I don’t know. He was really weird with me when we first met, and I didn’t know if he hated me or what but now he’s…” I grasped at the right words to say. How could I explain that he’d saved me from becoming roadkill without opening up a whole other can of worms? “He’s really had a change of heart, as dumb as that sounds.”

“Okay so when you say perfect…?” I could hear the question in her voice as I shifted my phone from one ear to the other. 

“I mean he’s six foot four with a swimmer’s body, a smile that could blind you and blue eyes that could hold oceans. Sufficient enough?” 

“Christ, Brynn, what are they feeding the guys out there? You have to send me a picture―wait, does he have a Facebook? Instagram? LinkedIn?” she asked, receiving a nervous laugh from me. 

“To be honest, I hadn’t checked. He doesn’t come off as the kind of guy that would want all of his personal stuff out there.” Now wasn’t that the truth. 

“Oh, so he’s the  _ mysterious _ type. Does he have a secret lair that he escapes to at the end of the day where he stares at his glistening pectorals?” Mia could be one of the funniest people I knew, and it made me miss her terribly. 

“God, I wish you could be here with me for this,” I told her, running a hand through my hair.

“Me too. I miss you. A  _ lot _ . Zoe’s convinced that you’ve been missing in the woods the last month, and I was starting to believe her. When are you coming to visit?” I hadn’t really given going back home much thought in the last couple weeks, since I had in fact been so busy getting adjusted. Mia’s question made me actually wonder when it would be that I’d see her and Zoe again. 

“I guess I could shoot for spring break, even though that seems like forever away,” I replied.

Mia groaned. “Ugh, that  _ is _ forever away. Well don’t be such a loser and text us some time.  _ Especially  _ if something happens with this Adam guy. Promise?”

“Promise. But I should probably start getting my dinner together. Love you,” I said, and waited for her to return the sentiment before hanging up my phone. I plopped back down on the couch, allowing my phone to drop out of my hand onto the cushion beside me. Mia’s observation really did get me thinking; Adam  _ was _ mysterious. He hadn’t come up as a suggested friend when everyone in school began adding me. He flew under the radar of everyone’s gossip. There were no stories of him getting drunk at a party or even causing any sort of trouble around school. Granted, more people were likely to talk about what his siblings had going on, but Adam appeared to be a blank canvas of sorts. My mind drew just as much of a blank when I tried to think of all the secrets Adam Wood must have had.

I held my head in my hands, staring down at the wooden floor and remained that way for quite some time. However, I knew I couldn’t just sit there the entire night, and pulled myself up to my bedroom. As I clicked through my various tabs on my laptop, I noticed I had an email from my mom. While I had been texting her occasionally, I realized it must have been a week since I last talked to her. I really was out of it with keeping in touch.

 

_ My beautiful girl, _

_ I can’t tell you how much I miss you. I’m sure you’re having a ton of fun getting to know everyone over there, and last I heard from your dad, everything’s going well for you two, but I wish you could be here. Even Mark is missing you. I know it’s easy to get caught up in everything, but just remember I lost my baby a year earlier than I thought, so give your old mom a call every now and then.  _

_ P.S. How are things going? Any new friends? Did you meet any cute guys over there? Without you here, I get much less gossip. _

_ Anyway, I love you Brynny and hope to hear from you soon.  _

_ Love you to the moon and back, _

_ Mom _

 

My chest caught slightly. I hadn’t really allowed myself to be homesick in the time I’d been in Granite Falls. I was too focused on fitting in and avoiding making an idiot of myself in front of Adam, as silly as that sounded. I really had been missing my mom and how we used to sit on our couch and eat corn chips with salsa and flick through different books and magazines together. 

While completely aware that moving had been my choice, I did find myself missing home that day more than I had any other day. I replied to my mom’s email quickly, telling her about Anna and Kristen and all my classes among various other details. I did, however, forget to mention a certain brown haired, blue eyed boy and the fact that he had saved me from certain death only eight hours earlier. I banked on my father’s predilection to avoiding conflict and hoped that he would conveniently forget to mention the little incident to my mom. I could just imagine her getting on the next plane to bring me home if she even thought I was in danger. 

I closed my computer after that and grabbed  _ Jitterbug _ off the ground. I opened it to the last line I had read and continued on, being made to question the possibilities and pitfalls of immortality as I had been many times before. When I had finished a few chapters, it was dark out and my dad had called to tell me he had decided to spend the night in Seattle since he’d have to be back in the morning. I noted my lack of appetite, remembering to pocket the money Michael had given me for later, as I laid on my back. 

I stared at the ceiling, at the thin layer of dust that had gathered on my fan from disuse. After some time, I thought of my mom and how she always said she thought best when her head was clear. I began to imagine the ceiling in my mind, perfectly white and uncluttered. It was then that I felt my eyelids begin to droop until they finally slid closed.

 

I blinked and suddenly became very aware of my surroundings. I was staring up at the sky, which was shrouded by too-tall trees, and my fingers flexed into the mossy ground. 

“Brynn, are you okay?” I heard a voice ask and when I looked up again, I realized that my head was rested on Adam’s knees. He was using the tone just like he had used earlier that day, except there was no car coming for me in sight though my head was spinning with a heavy sense of vertigo. 

“Wh-What happened?” I wondered as I slowly lifted my head from his lap. My vision was blurry as I glanced around us, but everything felt too green and too close. 

“I’m sorry I surprised you like that. I should have known better.”

“It’s fine… Really,” I convinced him, though I wasn’t sure what I was forgiving him of doing. 

“I probably should have explained myself. I know it’s a lot to process.” I became aware of the fact that he was playing with a piece of my hair and as I turned to assure him again that whatever he had done was fine, I found the same eyes I had looked into as I lay on the ground that morning. Except instead of letting go of my waist, he was leaning in towards me, his beautiful mouth turned up in a small smile. Just as I allowed my lids to slip closed, I heard car brakes screeching loud in my ears.

 

I shot up in my bed, breathing heavily, and held my hand to my head. I looked around my room, where there was no Adam nor car in sight. I covered my face with my hands and slowed my breathing. 

Maybe I wasn’t as okay as I thought I was. 

I’d probably hear that screech ringing in my ears for quite some time, regardless of the fact that I was perfectly alive and well. I’d also never be satisfied if I didn’t get some answers out of Adam, because he sure as hell owed me an explanation. If my dream had told me anything, it was that he had much more to say than I could ever begin to ask. 

I pushed off the duvet and padded over to the sliding door that led out to the small porch outside my room. With my forehead pressed against the cool glass, I trained my eyes on the deep blue horizon, which was obscured by trees and mountains in the distance. There was not much light to pollute the inky blackness of the night, and the only thing stood out was the pitch black of the treeline. It was the darkest sky I had ever seen. In the far off distance, however, I saw the faint light of day coming in from the high mountains. It must have been four in the morning, something confirmed as I glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 

I crawled back into bed and covered my head with the sheets, huffing as I did. I really needed to get a good night’s sleep but Adam  _ fucking _ Wood wasn’t going to let me get one apparently. I punched my pillow a few times in an attempt to fluff it up then tried my best to close my eyes once more and tried not to focus on how kissable Adam’s lips seemed to be.

 

. . .

Hard as I tried not to do so, I woke up thinking about those lips. 

I was the stupidest girl I’d ever known.

Scurrying down my porch stairs with a granola bar in my hand, I tugged on the back of my tall, dark brown riding boots that always refused to stay up, despite my best efforts. Of course, I had woken up about 15 minutes later than I’d meant to, but I had managed to pull together some semblance of an outfit before heading off to school.

With my car parked in the school parking lot, I took a quick breath before opening my door and quickly launched myself over the curb. I heard a chuckle from down the sidewalk and turned around to see Adam’s eyes on me. A blush crawled up my cheeks as I made my way over to him.

“Still a bit skittish, aren’t you?” he asked me once I was in earshot. He had on a navy and red striped sweater beneath a navy down vest. He was also wearing the same small smile that had been in my dream the night before, and my heart seemed to skip a beat.

Most ridiculous. Girl.  _ Ever _ .

“Well, I did almost get crushed between two cars yesterday, so I think I have every right to be a little paranoid,” I answered, looking up at him with my arm crossed in front of my chest. I was now very aware of the height difference between us, which was just another thing that made him infuriatingly perfect. 

“Oh, well that is true,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m uh… I am glad that you’re okay.” 

“Thanks…” I glanced away from his gaze. “You were a lifesaver. Seriously.” All the toughness I wanted to muster seemed to have left my body in that moment and I became very aware of the fact that I was starting a conversation that I did not know how to finish with the guy whose lips I had been dreaming about only hours before. “Um, Adam... About yesterday…” I began, unfolding my arms and fiddling with the white shirt I had on beneath my navy sweater.

“What is it, Brynn?” he prompted, leaning down slightly to catch my eye.

“I need to talk to you about what happened,” I told him. The slight smile on his face faded and his eyebrows furrowed.

“What would you want to know?” he questioned, leaning back against the hood of his car. The move was most likely intended to be nonchalant but everything about it said  _ defense.  _

I sighed and looked down then back up to him. “I just need to get some things clear, but I don’t want to do this right now.”  _ Nor do I even know what I need to ask,  _ I admonished myself.

“Look, I don’t know what you think happened but- ” 

“Adam, cut the shit.” He seemed to be off-put by my word choice. “We… We just need to talk some time, okay? I don’t think you or I want to have this conversation in front of these people.” It was then that I heard the first bell ring inside the building. “I have to get to class, but I guess I’ll see you later?” Before he could see the blush that threatened to make its rosy presence known, I muttered a quick goodbye and walked down the pathway in the direction of the front doors. Anna had to jog slightly so she could fall into step with me once I was inside.

“What were you saying to Adam?” she wondered in a voice that could have only been her best attempt at seeming uninterested. It didn’t work at all.

“Nothing,” I replied, adamant. I crossed my arms again and continued on towards our classroom. Anna scurried after me before tugging on my arm to make me stop.

“No, really, what did he say?” she asked again.

“Nothing. Seriously. I was just… Just thanking him for yesterday. That’s all. I probably should have just kept my mouth shut, but it’s… It’s whatever.” She looked as if she wanted to ask more, but restrained herself as we walked through the classroom doorway. 

I was mad at myself for not having a better game plan, but then again I hadn’t planned on seeing that glorious face of his this early in the morning. Keeping my mouth shut would have actually been a better idea for the time being, but I didn’t seem to be chock full of good ideas these days. I rapted my fingers against my desk, staring out the window into the gray mist.

“Brynn. Brynn…? Brynn!” Anna was standing next to me, shoving my shoulder. 

“What?” I asked, looking back at her. 

“Class is over,” she told me, motioning to the empty classroom.

“Oh, sorry,” I explained, standing up and shoving my books into my bag. “I must’ve zoned out.”

“I feel like it should be said that you should get your head out of those Adam Wood- filled clouds,  _ but... _ ” I shot Anna a glare which she promptly returned with a laugh..

At lunch, I glanced over at the table the Woods usually occupied out of a habit, but this time I found that Adam was looking right back at me. I looked away quickly and pretended to be thoroughly interested in the yogurt in front of me. After another minute or so I snuck a look over Tom’s head. I noticed that Adam had just stolen the same glance before speaking to his brunette sister. Ella had been twirling her long, mahogany ponytail before she leaned toward Adam to say something in return. 

Not for the first time, I wished that I had super hearing.

With a furrowed brow, I looked back down at my lunch. Why did I have to look over? I should have known he’d talk to his siblings about what I said. God, why did I have to be so fucking  _ nosy _ ? I continued to pick at my food, hoping that no one noticed the blush on my face. I couldn’t help but feel the eyes on the back of my head but after a moment I was suddenly aware that it was now my friends who were looking at me. I lifted my head and found the eyes of Anna, Kristen and the rest of the table, all of whom were staring not at me, but above me. I began to ask what they could possibly be looking at, but as I turned my head, my vision was obscured by the torso of one Mr. Wood. With widened eyes, I look up at Adam, who was wearing a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hey Brynn. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second... alone,” he said, his eyes flashing up to look at the rest of the table before returning to hold my gaze. 

“Uh…Yeah. Sure. Okay,” I replied, getting up from the table awkwardly and following him out of the lunch room.  

“So, you have those questions for me, right?” Adam asked of me once we were standing in the empty hallway. He was close to me – close enough that I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eye. 

“Well, yes. I do.” I answered with the feeling that this was now some sort of business meeting.

“And you’re not going to the dance with anyone Friday?” he asked, and I was about to answer when I stopped and furrowed my brow.

“The dance?” I questioned.

“Yes, there’s a homecoming dance this Friday and I know that you don’t have a date so I―,” he started but I held up my hand.

“Wait. Are you asking me to the dance?” I asked, a bit shell shocked to say the least.

“Maybe I am. It could give me a chance to answer those questions for you,” he suggested, shrugging those lovely, wide shoulders. It took all that was in me not to shout out an embarrassingly loud “Yes!” in response.

“Oh. Alright. I guess that’s… Great. Cool.”  _ Cool _ ? Fucking _ cool?  _ For fuck’s sake, was I on drugs?

“Fantastic. Here, give me your number. I’ll uh… I guess I’ll text you later about it,” he said, reaching into his pocket to hand me his sleek phone. Despite his natural charm and devastating good looks, it seemed as if this situation was new to Adam – as if the words weren’t native to his mouth.

Once I had shakily added my number to his contacts, which seemed to be lacking in numbers, I managed a smile up in his direction. “So Friday?”

“Friday. I’ll see you in class.” With a warm smile, he left me standing in the hallway for a moment alone, where I revelled in my shock before walking back into the lunchroom. My footsteps were slow as I made my way back to our table and saw that Adam had rejoined his brothers and sisters. 

_ Whoa _ .  _ Adam  _ fucking _ Wood just asked me if I’d go to a dance with him. _

I shook my head quickly, taking my seat next to Kristen, who, along with Anna and the others at the table, was staring at me.

“What did Adam want?” Anna asked urgently, her light brown eyes wide. I blinked at her and then smiled.

“He asked if I’d go to the dance with him,” I answered, tucking a blonde tendril behind my ear as I waited for their reactions.

Kristen and Anna gaped at me, mouths open, for what seemed like forever until we heard a laugh come from the Wood table. I looked over my shoulder and saw Adam chuckling at something while Ella and Gwen rolled their eyes towards one another. I looked to the other boys at the table and guessed at what Adam was laughing at; Terry and Frank seemed to have decided to arm wrestle one another. I could only imagine the force that went into Terry slamming his brother’s arm down on the table and causing the table to buckle slightly.

I turned back around from the scene and met the still shocked faces of my friends. “What?” I asked.

“Adam... Asked you to the dance?” Anna questioned in a low voice, her mouth slack in surprise.

“Well...Yeah,” I replied, shrugging.  _ What else was there to say? _ “I had no idea he was going to do it,” I added, trying to defend myself. She shook her head quickly and closed her mouth. It certainly didn’t feel like I had done anything wrong... Or maybe I had. If I remembered correctly, Adam had flat out ignored every girl in the town before I showed up, and now he was asking me to be his date? That was when I noticed the waves of jealousy pouring towards me from Anna and the other girls at the table. Kristen seemed to be in just as much shock, despite how much she seemed to have loved Tom. This  _ was _ Adam we were talking about.

“Oh...okay,” Anna said in her normal pitch, which even then seemed to have deflated. I felt uncomfortable the rest of the lunch period and when the bell finally rang, I was more than happy to shuffle out of there and to Physics.

I acknowledged the fact that Mr. Barbato had the white screen pulled down and thanked whatever god was up in the sky for the creation of the movie day. Taking my seat beside Adam, I noticed that his chair was moved ever so slightly closer to mine, and I had to count that as a personal accomplishment of sorts. 

One day, he was dying to get away from me; a month later, he was my date to Homecoming. But that was life, wasn’t it?

When the lights went off in the room and the movie began to play, I leaned forward on our long desk and rested my chin in my palm. After some time, Adam mimicked the motion, which brought our arms within inches of one another’s. Maybe it was pure giddiness or lack of sleep, but I could have sworn that I felt some kind of electricity between our skin. It was the kind of current that reminded you that you were alive and made it like there were more nerve endings in your body than stars in the sky. 

I know I had meant to come off as tough and like I wouldn’t take no for an answer from this mysterious boy, but at the end of the day, the facts were these: I was an average teenage girl and the school’s most handsome guy had just asked me to a dance, and this was after saving me from certain danger. 

I should have been allowed to be excited. I should have wanted to jump up and down and do a stupid, little dance. 

All of those facts didn’t mean that Adam didn’t owe me an explanation, but he certainly knew how to warm a girl up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a playlist on Spotify that I listen to when writing. Feel free to give it a listen! https://open.spotify.com/user/121387696/playlist/3zNGUdzKDBAFOz2C2FB1cT?si=L5yr0Of_RTWOWWiXsAHazw


	4. Truth

_ Whoosh. _

_ Whoosh.  _

_ Whoosh. _

I watched the white blades of my ceiling fan cut through the air as I sprawled out across my bed. The alarm on my phone had yet to go off, and the sky was just beginning to lighten, but I wanted to revel in my bed for a couple minutes more. I was in an unnaturally good mood that morning, having slept through the night without tossing and turning as I had the last few weeks, and I was happy to notice the lack of rain falling on the roof above me, since it had started to torrential downpour the night before. I also was imagining the type of dress I was going to search for that night, and bit my lip at the thought that I was, in fact, going to this dance with Adam. 

What a strange week this was becoming. 

As I shuffled down the stairs, buttoning the last small button of my hunter green blouse, there came the noise of ruffling papers from the kitchen. I had momentarily forgotten that my dad had actually come home the night before. He wished me a good morning from behind the rim of his coffee mug, which I returned with a cheerful smile as I reached into one of the cabinets.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” he commented, wiggling his tie a bit to loosen it around his neck.

I shrugged before pouring Cocoa Puffs into a bowl. “I guess you could say that. Just looking forward to going dress shopping,” I said, smiling again. Then my smile faded slightly. I had forgotten to tell my dad that I was going to the dance.  _ Shit _ .

“Dress shopping? For what?” my dad asked, sipping once more.

I hesitated. “Uh. For the homecoming dance on Friday. I’m shopping with Kristen and Anna.”

“Oh, okay. Are you taking anyone?” Michael asked in his most nonchalant voice, which was not nonchalant at all.

“Um… You know Dr. Wood? His son,” I answered, looking down at the counter and distractedly spooning cereal into my mouth.

“The big one?” I watched the horror creep up in my father’s eyes as he pictured me getting picked up by Terry. I scrambled to right the image. 

“No, no, no!” I rushed out, “Not Terry‒Adam. I think you may have met him before,” I told him.

“Oh. Thank God.” A visible sigh of release escaped his chest. “I mean, they’re all nice kids. I’ve done some business with their dad from time to time. You know, legal-slash-medical things,” Michael vaguely explained, his hands motioning, to which I nodded in response. “Keep to themselves a bit but that should be fun for you. Adam’s a uh… A real good looking kid.”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah, he is. It should be a good time,” I replied, trying my hardest just to finish the conversation before my dad could ask any more questions. 

I finished off my breakfast then shoved my homework into my large, tan purse. With a kiss on my dad’s cheek and my keys in hand, I headed off to school. 

The sky was gloriously lacking in rain to fall upon our heads, so Kristen, Anna, and I sat out on the benches in the courtyard, pulling our coats a little tighter against us as the late autumn breeze kicked up the leaves around us. I became rather interested in the swirling of said leaves when Anna’s voice calling my name shook me out of my daze.

“Brynn?” She waved her hand slightly as if to wipe my brain clean. “What time did you want to leave for shopping tonight?” 

“I guess 3:30 could work, since I need to go home real quick and grab some extra bras to try with dresses. Do you guys just want to come by my place and we can drive in my car?” I offered, receiving enthusiastic nods from both girls, seeing as Kristen was still saving up for a car and Anna’s Jeep was unreliable at best. With a quick smile, I turned my head just in time to see Adam’s car pull into the lot and park right beside mine. He climbed out, rearranged his brown leather jacket, then proceeded to head towards the school. As he walked past, Adam nodded in my direction with a sheepish (albeit devastatingly sexy) smile and a quick wave before his brother Terry caught up with him and slung his muscular arm around Adam’s neck, making like he was putting him in a choke hold as they walked through the door.

I giggled at the sight before the sound of someone clearing their throat came from beside me. I turned my head again and was greeted by the raised eyebrow of Anna.

“Okay, is there something that you’re not telling us?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.

“What do you mean?” I inquired, though I was pretty sure of what she must have been assuming.

“Well, between him asking you to Homecoming and the smiles and the waves and the general  _ heart eyes _ …” I could hear the twinge of jealousy in her voice. “Are you guys talking or something? He’s never acted like this before.  _ Ever _ .” Though we were miles and miles away from that point, I could sense the same feeling I had had the day before: that bubbly sensation in the pit of my stomach that made me want to break out into a smile as wide as Texas. I restrained myself from doing so as I answered Anna’s accusation, but laughed in response.

“What? No! We sit next to each other in class is all,” I explained, almost feeling as if I was telling a lie. “He’s…. I don’t know. He’s just been really nice to me.”

“Yeah, to you and no one else. I haven’t seen him smile like that at anyone who didn’t have the same last name as him.” My cheeks flushed at her statement. “Scratch that ‒ I don’t think he has looked at  _ anyone _ like that.”

“Oh, come on, Anna. Brynn’s just new to town and so was Adam for a year before that,” Kristen defended me as we all walked into school, since the bell had gone off during Anna’s observation. “He probably is just doing what any guy would do when a new girl comes to town — no offense to you, Brynn,” she added quickly, shooting me a quick, guilty smile. 

“I don’t know what to tell you guys, honestly. I’m just as confused about him as you are,” I explained before we all went our separate ways to the first class of the day. 

The day proceeded slowly, with each minute ticking by like drops falling from a slowly leaking sink.

_ Drip, drip, drip.  _

_ Tick, tick, tick.  _

I knew that time had a bad habit of slowing down when all you wanted it to do was speed up, so I tried my hardest to stay focused on the matters at hand. Unfortunately, it started to feel as though this day had one hour too many and I found myself drifting off during my French class. 

The bell pulled me abruptly out of my daydream, which featured a certain pair of blue eyes. As I packed up my things, I couldn’t help but be a little concerned about the level of education I was receiving, since my teacher had failed to acknowledge my little cat nap. With a shake of the head, I made my way towards the lunchroom, head down as I scrolled through my phone. I had been texting Mia most of the morning about my recent life development, which earned me a response riddled with capitals and exclamation points. I was just talking to her about what stores I should go to when I ran solidly into Kristen’s boyfriend at the front of the cafeteria. 

“Good to see you too, Brynn,” Tom said as we righted ourselves, his brow furrowed above his light hazel eyes. I could definitely see why Kristen would date Tom, though he was not necessarily my type. He was pretty good looking but was maybe just a little too hipster for my taste. As if to prove a point, he rearranged the horn-rimmed glasses on his thin nose. 

I rushed out an apology and pocketed my phone. “I should have been looking where I was going ‒ That was totally my fault.”

Tom laughed it off as Kristen walked up. “It’s seriously fine. Just keep your head up.” His tiny girlfriend cocked her head to the side, having missed our little mishap, but had her own small remark to make regardless.

“Maybe she’d pay attention if she wasn’t daydreaming about her  _ boyfriend _ ,” Kristen teased in a sing-songy voice, causing me to blanche.

“Boyfriend?” wondered Tom, looking from Kristen to me with raised eyebrows. “Since when?” 

“ _ No one _ is my boyfriend,” I answered, sending a scathing look in the direction of my friend. “Kristen and Anna have this fantastical theory that Adam Wood and I are now suddenly dating, which is the furthest thing from the truth.” 

“Yeah, okay. Tell that to to the stars in your eyes,” Kristen replied as we walked into the lunchroom. I blushed and cast said starry eyes in the direction of Adam and the other Woods, and found that Adam was concentrating on his own hands as if the meaning of life was inscribed into the lines on his palms. He then looked up and met my eyes, his mouth tugging into a small smile, though his brow remained furrowed in thought. I prayed to whatever God there was that he hadn’t overheard Kristen’s comment. 

Once lunch was over, Matt and I strolled down the hallway towards Physics. Matt reminded me of an excitable yellow labrador sometimes, with his quick smile and broad gestures. I knew he meant well, because he was a pretty nice guy, but I could also tell that a part of him harbored a tiny crush on me. It was most likely the “New Girl” appeal, and while it was flattering, I was acutely aware of Anna’s rapidly developing crush on Matt. It was probably in my best interests to firmly drive home the fact that I wasn’t interested. To help my cause, I asked Matt about the dance.

“Ah, I don’t know. I was thinking of girls I could ask, but I’m not really sure,” he replied, motioning towards the general collective of girls walking past us before pocketing his hand. 

“You know who doesn’t have a date yet?” I kept my tone casual, un-invested. “Anna.”

“Really? Huh…” Matt answered thoughtfully. I could have sworn I heard the cogs start turning in his brain as he mulled it over. Guys can be so dense when it comes to girls who actually are interested in them. “I hadn’t thought to ask her but… Yeah. Maybe,” he said while we walked through the classroom door. 

“You should! I know she’d definitely be game.” He made another thoughtful sound before leaving my side to take his seat closer to the back. With a relieved feeling pulling up the corner of my mouth, I pulled out my seat beside Adam; just as I did, he looked up from his phone and released what sounded like a surprised laugh.

“That’s a nice color,” he commented and it very quickly dawned on me that he was wearing a henley that was the same shade of green as my blouse. I laughed nervously and tucked a tendril of hair behind my ear. No wonder people thought that we were somehow an item; we were matching for fuck’s sake. I tried to think of something to say in response. 

“Wow.” Another shaky laugh.  _ Smooth, Brynn _ . “Great minds must dress alike, I guess,” I speculated.  _ Please God, grant me a selective memory so I can pretend that I didn’t just say that.  _ I smiled shyly at that glorious face of his before Mr. Barbato walked past and placed two papers on the desk before us. I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment before realizing it was the test we had taken a week earlier.

“I see the two smartest students are sitting together,” our teacher commented, awarding us with his vaguely awkward smile before returning to the front of the class. A slightly deeper shade of pink added itself to the blush already present on my face and I smiled nervously. I was kind of used to receiving good grades, but I hated to have it pointed out in front of a class. I did acknowledge, however, that Adam nonchalantly took the paper and slid it into his bag without a change in expression whatsoever. Part of me had almost been hoping he wasn’t a good student, considering everything else he had going for him; lo and behold, he appeared to also be an A student.  _ Is there anything about him that isn’t perfect?  _ I questioned mentally before looking over the problem sets, noting the small errors I made that earned me a slightly less than perfect score. 

The rest of the class was spent going over the problems that many people had gotten wrong, so both myself and Adam found ourselves with not much to do. I pulled my phone out under our desk to check my messages from Mia, who had suggested buying lingerie from a ridiculously overpriced store in preparation for the dance. I responded with an embarrassed emoji, praying that Adam hadn’t seen the message from beside me. I chanced a glance at him, and saw that his lips were pulled into the tiniest smile while he looked out the window. I couldn’t help but think that possibly he had seen the message out of the corner of his eye, which made me want to sink into a hole that would hopefully open up beneath me. 

The bell finally rang and I was surprised that Adam did not bolt out of the class as he usually did, but instead stood, stretched his arms in front him, and with a quick but charming smile, murmured “See you,” to me before strolling out of the classroom. My eyes followed him out the door, my mouth the slightest bit slack. It would take a lifetime to get used to that boy.

I changed quickly into my gym clothes before heading out into the gym, where I set a quick pace around the room; I used the laps as a chance to think. While I was still fervently curious as to how Adam had managed to save my life just a week before, Adam’s benignly sweet actions had made it all the more difficult to pretend like I wasn’t excited about spending the night out with him. I wish I could have remained resilient and tough and acted as if I didn’t have hearts in my eyes over this boy, but that seemed to be a blatant lie. Of course I was excited about the dance. Of course I was excited that he threw smiles in my direction.  _ But hell’s bells, Brynn, the guy still has to explain how he pushed a car like it was a piece of plastic,  _ I reminded myself. 

With a furrowed brow, I continued to think of how the night would play out. In the meantime, I had failed to notice that my lace had come undone and completely tripped over myself. By the grace of some mystical being, I managed to catch myself from falling flat on my face, but instead scraped my knee across the waxed wooden floor. 

“Shit!” I exclaimed, my face flushing pink from embarrassment as I clapped my hand over my mouth; as if that would bring the word back from the air. My sudden curse attracted the attention of the gym teacher. 

“Brynn, are you okay?” Mr. Parker asked, helping me up from my kneeling position. With burning cheeks, I responded.

“Yeah, I just fell. I’m sure I’m fine.” It was then that I looked down and noticed that my knee seemed to be threatening to release droplets of blood. I groaned at the injury. “Actually, may I go to the nurse?  I asked, exasperated.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied, jogging to his office near the locker rooms to write me a hall pass. I limped my way out, stopping by the bathroom to grab something to wipe the tiny amount of blood off my leg. I huffed as I made my way towards the cozy little nurse’s office. _ Maybe you should stop thinking about Adam so much―Maybe then you wouldn’t end up in these kinds of situations,  _ I scolded myself before reaching for the door, pulling it open quickly before walking directly into a rock solid body. All the blood that had rushed to my face in the gymnasium now flooded away from my cheeks when I looked up and found Mr. Thought Consumer himself looking back down at me.

“Oh! Oh my God. Adam. I am  _ so  _ sorry,” I apologized, tucking a piece of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear. He seemed to be as startled as I was, but looked far less flustered.

“No, no―you’re fine,” he replied, pushing the sleeves of his shirt up his arms. “Are you okay?” His question was punctuated with a head nod in the direction of the balled up tissue I had in my hand, which was stained light red. 

“Oh, yeah. It’s nothing big. I just tripped in gym and scraped my knee. What are you doing here?” I questioned, leaning down slightly to tap my leg once more to see if any more blood would appear; the tissue came up with negative results.

“Well, I have health class after physics and we were supposed to do blood types today but I…  _ Really _ can’t be around blood, so she let me have the period off,” Adam explained, rubbing the back of his neck. In reaction, I tightly clasped the offending tissue into my hand. “But anyway, don’t let me hold you up if you were on your way to the nurse.”

“No, I mean...” I lifted my leg up behind me so I could see if it hurt to bend or not. When the sting was hardly anything of note, I continued, “I actually think I’m fine. I guess coming here was useless,” I sighed, frowning at the thought of having to go back to gym.

“Not completely. You managed to get out of class, didn’t you?”

“Wow, I never would have pegged you as the type to skip class,” I told him. Adam laughed and my heart melted ever so slightly.

“You’re not wrong to assume, because I’m usually not. It’s just nice when I get a chance to,” he said, his lips pulling up into what could only be described as a mischievous smile. God, I was so screwed.

“Alright, I see what you mean. So, what do you do with all this time to yourself?” I asked, throwing the balled up tissue into the trash can beside the office door. 

Adam looked both ways down the halls then down at me. “My best option is to sit right here and wait for the bell to ring.” With that he went to the lockers across the way and slid down until he was seated on the tiled floor. It was interesting to see him acting so… Uninhibited. I joined him with my back leaning against the cool metal of the locker.

“So… You don’t like blood?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Ah, no. It just makes me feel a bit… Fidgety,” he explained, smiling wryly as if it were an inside joke. “I don’t know why everyone needs to know their blood type for a health class, but that’s just a personal opinion.” I giggled beside him.

“That is actually a little weird. If anything, I feel like everyone should know by now; I’ve known mine forever.” He raised an eyebrow in my direction. “B positive,” I elaborated, smiling to myself. “Actually, my mom always said that my blood type was the reason why I was always so happy as a kid. There’s probably absolutely no correlation, but it’s fun to think it’s true.” I had never actually told that story to anyone else before that moment; I was surprised at the ease with which the words left my mouth. 

“That is the most pleasant theory I’ve ever heard concerning blood, so I’ll give your mom that,” Adam replied. We mirrored smiles at each other; I was the first to break eye contact when I felt my cheeks flush. I took the moment to look down at the polish that had chipped on one of my nails. “Despite the sunny disposition,” he said after another moment, “you do seem to be just a bit accident prone.”

My teeth caught my bottom lip into a pearly embrace. “Yeah, I guess the evidence would prove you right. In my defense, I didn’t have nearly as many run-ins with out of control cars or loose shoelaces before I moved here,” I explained, laughing lightly. His responding chuckle was short as his shoulders stiffened.  _ Perhaps _ the subject was one he’d rather avoid. I took the beat in conversation as an opportunity to remove my hair from the ponytail it had been in and allowed the waves to fall around my face. 

“So… Have you thought about those questions you wanted to ask me?” he questioned. Okay, perhaps he knew he couldn’t avoid the conversation. I tucked my hair behind my ear once more. 

“I’ve been mulling them over,” I told him. “Not many of them make sense right now. I was considering radioactive spiders, but that was after I stayed up watching  _ The Amazing Spiderman. _ ” I paused. “Wait.  _ Have _ you ever been exposed to radioactive spiders? Do you have an Uncle Ben? I might have actually been onto something there.”

Adam visibly relaxed beside me, catching on to my attempt to lighten the mood. I knew neither of us really wanted to have the beginnings of this discussion. “ _ Ha-ha _ , very funny,” he responded. “No relation to an Uncle Ben, unfortunately.” 

“Well damn. There goes one theory.” I made a face of frustration before breaking into a quiet laugh. “To be completely honest, the only explanations I can come up with at the moment are based off superheroes.”

“I would hardly consider myself a hero,” Adam replied. The statement was so flat and solemn that it made me hesitate for a moment.  _ Could he really believe that? _ I thought incredulously. 

“Well, you saved my life and if that’s not heroic, I don’t know what is,” I told him. I lifted my hand to grab for his, but thought it was best to avoid contact… At least for the time being. Adam shrugged off the comment and looked at his own hands that rested in his lap. I mustered up some courage and nudged his shoulder with my own; his head turned and our eyes met. 

“Look―we don’t have to talk about this now. I know this is all…” I searched for the right word. “ _ Complicated _ and we both have things on our minds, so let’s just chill out, okay?” 

I earned a smile.

“Chill,” he repeated, as if the word was foreign to his mouth. “Huh. I think we could do that.”

“Good.”

We spent the rest of the time we had just talking about little things around school, like how the calculus teacher, Mrs. Fuller, had this ever present green scarf in her room that she never seemed to wear. I pointed out that I only ever saw one janitor taking care of the entire school, and Adam suggested that there may have been secret tunnels that they used. We even discussed the pitfalls of the staircase at the back of the school, where one step was just a little too short and thus caused about ten people to trip daily.

How pleasant it was to talk about nothing concerning life or death circumstances.

All too soon, it felt, the bell rang and Adam and I were brought out of the little bubble that had been created in the hallway. He stood up, towering over me, and offered me his hand. I was surprised to find his skin to be cool, as though he had spent the past hour outside in the chilly, autumn weather. I chalked it up to bad circulation and focused rather on the goodbye at hand.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Adam shouldered his backpack. 

“Yes, you will. Have fun shopping―Oh, and look out for those pesky out of control cars,” he joked good-naturedly, smiling down at me and saying goodbye before walking off into the throngs of students that now filled the halls. I sighed, reluctantly turning away and ramming right into Anna.

“Ow. Oh, hey, Brynn. I brought your things for you from the locker room,” Anna explained, handing me my normal clothes as well as my book bag.

“Oh my gosh, thanks Anna.” I did my best to pretend that I hadn’t spent the better part of the past hour talking with the man of everyone’s dreams. “So, you and Kristen are coming to my house now?” I asked, throwing my bag over my shoulder.

“Yeah, I just have to drive back home real quick then we’ll meet you at your house.”

“Okay, just text me when you get there,” I replied, waving as I scurried to my locker then down to my car where I could properly squeal like the little girl I was. 

. . .

 

Friday night, I flitted around my room, dancing on each foot as I wiggled my feet into the towering heels I had chosen for the dance. If my dad had been home, he would have thought that there was a small herd of elephants upstairs considering the amount of times I had run back and forth from my bedroom to the bathroom as I tried to pull myself together. 

I did one more trip to the bathroom to grab my lipstick before finally stopping in front of the mirror that hung on the inside of the closet door. 

I glanced myself over one more time: past my legs and the small, clear bandaid I had put over the scrape on my knee, and on to the dress I had bought in Seattle. Kristen had told me that I looked great in it; Anna had told me that my boobs looked awesome in it. I rearranged the bra that was helping said boobs look their best in the deep V neckline, then smoothed the navy colored fabric of my skirt. 

With a huff of air, I shuffled over to my jewelry box and pulled out my oval, ivory colored earrings just as my phone pinged from the comfort of my bed. 

_ Are you ready?  _ A text from Adam.  _ I’ll be there in five minutes.  _

Glad to see he was prompt.  _ Yeah, I’m good to go! See you soon.  _

I caught the goofy smile that was about to spread across my face. I couldn’t believe my luck at that moment. Here I was, dressed in an outfit I adored, texting the most handsome guy this side of the equator, waiting for him to take me to a dance where everyone would be guessing as to whether or not we were actually together. 

Come on―shit like this just doesn’t happen. 

Approximately five minutes after Adam’s text had gone through, I heard the roar of an engine and a beep escape from the darkness. I made my way down the stairs, purse in hand, before grabbing a jacket from the coat closet. Expecting Adam to have been waiting in his car, I was surprised when I pulled open the door and found him standing there. 

He was wearing a white collared shirt beneath a slick black rain coat and well-fitted, dark gray slacks that were likely to show off his best assets. Oh,  _ God _ , I hadn’t even checked out his most likely glorious gluteus maximus. He looked like a god standing before me, a charming smile on his lips. 

“Wow.” I blushed at the word that escaped his mouth as he offered me the umbrella in his hand. “You look… Nice.”

“You do too.”  _ Understatement of the century _ , I thought. “Let’s get going, shall we?” He nodded before leading me down the pathway to where his car was parked. I became hyper aware of his hand on the small of my back as we walked close together. Adam held the passenger door open for me and I gratefully slid in to escape the drizzle. I glanced around the car and held in the urge to drop my mouth open as he drove down my driveway. It truly was a beautiful car, especially on the inside where everything glowed a dim blue against the dark tinted windows. Adam climbed in and took off down the road, his fingers fiddling with his phone as he scrolled through his music.

A low voice filled the car, along with a few strumming guitars. I thought I recognized the song and just as I turned my attention to Adam to ask who sang it, my eyes fell on the speedometer. 

“Um… Adam?” I squeaked, my eyes wide.

He glanced at me with a confused expression. “Yeah, Brynn?”

“Aren’t you going a little…fast?” I gulped. We were going at least 90 down the highway.

“What do you mean?” Adam repeated, looking at me now with his eyebrow raised. It was then that I realized that this must have been a natural thing for him; that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared shitless. 

“Well I mean with the rain and everything, I just…  _ personally  _ wouldn’t be going that fast,” I explained while tucking my hair behind my ear. 

“Oh. Yeah.” A look of realization washed over his features. “Sorry, I’m just used to driving fast, but I’ll slow down if it scares you,” he offered, letting his foot off the gas just slightly. I gave him a thankful look and swallowed the fear in my throat, looking back out the windshield. I sat quietly for a moment, watching the trees whiz by. I started to notice just how long we had been driving.

“W-where are we going?” I asked hesitantly.

“You wanted to ask me some questions, right?”  I nodded slowly, my eyes wide with fear. “Well I thought maybe I could answer you better if it was just the two of us.”

“Just the two of us as in… As in, dinner?” I questioned, relaxing slightly at the thought of us going out to dinner rather than him suddenly turning out to be a serial killer.

“Yes, dinner. You didn’t want to go to the dance,” he said, and I could sense that it wasn’t a question.

“I mean…” Part of me had wanted to go, just to blow off a little steam and show off my wildly good luck, but there was also a large part of me that knew that it wasn’t the best place to figure out what the hell Adam was hiding from me. “I  _ was _ only going because of you,” I admitted, wringing my hands in my lap and looking at him slowly. I saw that smile return to his lips and my heart melted. “So where are we going?” I asked as casually as possible.

“Lake Stevens. We won’t be too far away, and as you pointed out, I drive very fast, so it won’t take long to get back if your father gets worried.”

“Pssh,” I scoffed. “My dad isn’t coming home tonight. He could care less when I get home.” That wasn’t the whole truth, but it did hold some validity. My dad wasn’t concerned about when I would return, mostly because he  _ knew _ I would. 

“Really? I’d think that he would care quite a bit if his daughter left with a guy like me and didn’t come back for some time.” I hoped he was joking on the last part of his sentence.

“A guy like you? Yeah, quite the threat you are,” I told him, biting my lip when I felt the sarcasm seep out of my mouth. Something about Adam made me throw up my words. He thankfully chuckled, shifting in his seat and switching hands on the steering wheel. He allowed his arm to rest on the center console beside mine. I blushed slightly before saying, “And my dad seems to like you just fine already, so you don’t have much to worry about.”

“Oh yeah? Well that’s comforting.” Adam turned his head toward me, a mischievous smile creeping its way back onto his lips. “A girl as pretty as you is usually followed by a shotgun-wielding father.”

I paused.  _ Had he really just said that? _ I choked out a laugh and murmured an embarrassed, “Thank you.” Blushing heavily this time, I hid my face behind my curtain of flaxen blonde hair. Taking the compliment was better than trying to fight someone who was so damn convincing.  _ Please, let’s just get to the restaurant _ , I begged in my head as we drove. Thankfully, my wish came true and the car soon came to a halt in front of a nice looking place, but not nearly nice enough to have a Audi parked in front of it. Before I could even look up, Adam was out of the car and opening my door. 

“Thank you,” I said, getting out and walking past him to the door to escape the slight drizzle that threatened to frizz my hair. Adam held that door for me as well, securing his position as a professional gentleman.

While we stood at the hostess podium, I watched the looks the waitresses were giving Adam. I mean, I even caught a glimpse of some of the waiters doing a double take as they walked by with plates of food lined up their arms. Thankfully, we were seated soon and Adam and I were able to make small conversation while I shifted in my seat, trying my best to appear comfortable and charming when I’d rather stare at him for the next thirty minutes straight. Hell, he could have been speaking in Chinese and I would have laughed and nodded my head right along. 

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can get you, sir?” our waitress, Lacey, asked, pen ready. I noticed that she had made a point of leaning in towards Adam, the front of her button down exposing her undeniably perfect pair of breasts. I glanced down at my own and unsuccessfully imagined them to be two cups bigger.

“I’m fine with my water. Brynn?” he said, looking me in the eye with a slight smile on his face.

“No, I’m okay. Thank you,” I answered, glancing down at my grilled chicken caesar. She seemed deeply upset that Adam hadn’t ordered anything. I was just as confused about his appetite, or lack thereof.

“Watching your figure there, Wood?” I inquired, trying to lighten the situation at hand. I needed to know what the hell was going on, but I figured I should set the tone with Adam. I wasn’t here to accuse, but I certainly deserved to know the truth. 

“Just not hungry,” he explained, shrugging it off.

“You’re never hungry though,” I protested. “I’ve watched you throw out your lunch nearly every day since I’ve been here.”  _ Careful Brynn, you sound like a stalker.  _ “I’m just curious as to why a healthy guy like you can’t manage down an apple.”

“Like I said, I’m just not ever that hungry, or at least I’m not interested in whatever the hell that cafeteria makes for us.” This response was hardly believable coming from the mouth of a teen-aged guy, but I shook it off. I had questions to ask and answers to receive. 

“Okay, second question. Wh-” Adam interrupted me. 

“You’re really cutting to the chase, aren’t you?” he asked, leaning forward to rest his crossed forearms on the table between us. “So no discussion of the state of the economy? What about what you want from this one crazy life?” Adam suggested, a congenial smile appearing on his face.

“Well, I can tell you all I want from life later,” I countered. “And the world has mostly gone to hell in a handbasket. Second question.” I processed for another second, allowing my mind to wander to the questions that had been settling in my mind for weeks. “How long have you lived in Granite Falls?”

“Since freshman year, but I went to a private school until junior year,” Adam replied, now sensing that I was about business, as much as I would have enjoyed not having this conversation.

“How did your family end up together?” I wondered, prepared to fire off questions at a lightning round pace.

“My father was a friend of Simon’s and they adopted me when I was young.... Simon and Elizabeth took on Gwen and Frank then Terry and Ella as the years went on. They didn’t have homes and my parents wanted to provide for them.”

“It’s really kind of them… but,” I started hesitantly, imagining Anna’s face all the while.  “Don’t they think it’s a bit…  _ odd _ that they’ve started dating each other?”

“Well, they just accepted it as the way things were going to be. When you don’t spend your real developmental years together as a family, it’s easy to separate yourself. Simon and Elizabeth are our guardians, yeah, but they understand that we don’t necessarily see one another as siblings―It’s just easier to call them as much.” Adam shrugged at the end of his explanation, gently swirling the glass of water in front of him. “Although, you wouldn’t know  _ how  _ irritating it can be in a house full of couples,” he added, rolling his eyes as if it was the most normal thing in the world to live in the home of two thirty-somethings harboring teenaged lovebirds. 

But who was I to judge what they chose to do? It was hardly hurting anyone.

“I can only imagine,” I replied, teetering out a laugh. “But correct me if I’m wrong: Gwen and Frank are twins?”

“That would be right.”

“Gotcha.” I thought for a moment, looking for a more high-impact question. Something that would lend itself to explanation. 

Then it hit me. “So, is it just a coincidence that you all have the same colored eyes?”

The water stopped swirling; Obviously this had struck a nerve. 

_ It wasn’t a coincidence. _

“This was the part that I wasn’t looking forward to,” he said softly, taking in a slow breath. His hand did a single circuit through his hair and onto the back of his neck before he continued. “There’s a reason why we do… But it’s not a coincidence.”

My head cocked to the side, trying to understand what exactly he could mean by that before he went on.

“We share a common...  _ trait  _ which is why Simon and Elizabeth were so willing to bring us all in.”

“ _ Okay _ ...” I said slowly, tossing my hair behind my shoulder and leaning forward. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he made it seem like there was more to it than eye color preference.

“We’re just… not like other people,” he explained, leaning into the table as well, arms crossed in front of him. He had been training his eyes toward the table, but looked up to meet my eye for a brief moment.

“Well, I gathered as much. Care to elaborate on that for me?” I asked.

He laughed shortly. “I would, if I…” Eyes back on the table. 

“If what?” I prompted softly.

“If I weren’t afraid that you would never speak to me again.” This response made me catch my breath. 

“Adam, whatever it is, you can trust me,” I insisted. “I don’t scare  _ too  _ easily. How bad could it possibly be?”

His eyes slid closed before he pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. A discontented noise rose up from his throat. “Bad enough that I’ve never told anyone that wasn’t just like me.”

“Never?”

“ _ Never _ . But I owe you an explanation... and I think I decided as much from the first time I ever saw you.” 

My eyebrows raised at this. “So this has to do with how you acted on the first day?”

“It has to do with why I was out for those first few weeks and why I couldn’t be in health class and how I was able to save you. It has to do with everything.”

There had been moments that used to strike me as odd: most obviously his ability to make scrap metal out of a moving vehicle. Alternatively, I was acutely aware of how quickly he seemed to move from one place to another, how cold his hands remained despite being inside for extended periods of time, how everything about him was almost unnervingly perfect.

There wasn’t a one-size-fits-all option for me to point at. He had all of the makings of a superhero:  _ fast as a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound _ , et cetera.

A red flag raised itself in my mind, however, at the mention of health class.

“So this… is why you’re squeamish around blood?” My voice was almost silent.

“I get more than squeamish.” 

I was suddenly reminded of another oddity that Anna had pointed out on one of the days that Adam was out of school.  _ What was the phrase that she used?  _ I asked myself, going into the recesses of my memory. My pulse began to thrum in my temple when I thought of her wording.

_ Where there’s sun, there’s the Woods. They’re like the opposite of... _

I couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that escaped me then.

“ _ Ha, _ ” I breathed, shifting in my chair. My mouth felt dry. “No, I’m being ridiculous.” It was as if my fight or flight reflex had gone into hyperdrive in that moment.

“I promise you, you aren’t,” Adam replied tightly.

“You’re trying to tell me that,” I started, voice wavering, “You’re a…” I stopped, shaking my head. I stuttered over the first few syllables of my question before finally managing,“What, a-a  _ vampire _ ?”

The word had finally come to me.

“Y-You can’t be. No, no,  _ no _ .” 

“Brynn, stop shaking.” His voice was low and silky but nonetheless concerned. “I know this is a lot and it’s scary but you need to stop before people start to notice. Here, drink this.” He handed me his water and I shakily guzzled it down. “You‘re going into shock―Please just take a breath,” he said softly, and while it helped to settle my shaking, it did nothing to calm my sudden temper.

“Don’t expect me to  _ fucking _ calm down, Adam,” I whispered angrily. “You just told me you’re a goddamn vampire. That’s not something I am going to get over just like that.”

“I understand that, but you have to listen to me. You deserve to know the truth; you’re obviously too… too  _ aware _ to have avoided it like everyone else does. And I…” He released another sharp breath. “I can’t avoid the fact that I can’t get you off my mind.”

I couldn’t tell if this statement was supposed to be endearing or threatening, but I had promised that I wouldn’t be afraid. 

“But Adam… You’re  _ not  _ like how they’re supposed to be.”

“Like I don’t know that,” he replied, exasperated. “Those are all lies. Lies that were made up by fanatics and people that feared the unknown in some far-lying part of Eastern Europe.”

“H-How old are you actually?” I asked abruptly, almost afraid of his answer.

“I…” There was a real hesitation here; it only made it worse. “I was born in New York City on March 21... 1865.” My eyes widened further just as my stomach contracted.

“ _ 1865 _ ?” I repeated, gulping down another sip of my water.

“Yes.”

“That means you’re…”

“Over one hundred and fifty years old,” Adam finished for me and I felt my lungs working in double time as I took in sharp breaths of air.

“Uh… Wow,” was my well articulated response as I rested my forehead in my hands, doing the best I could to overcome the intense urge to throw my guts up all over the table. 

“Okay…” I paused, taking a steadying breath. Another question then. “Do you drink, um...  _ How  _ do you drink blood?” I asked unevenly.

“If it makes it any better,” he started, “we don’t drink human blood. My family and I are what you could call… Vegetarians. We only drink animal blood.”

“And are there others?”

“Yes, but they rarely stay in one place for a long time. There’s another coven like ours that lives in Maine.”

“Oh.”

Adam stared across the table at me and I mirrored him, wringing my hands again.

“I’m sorry if this is too much. I understand if you don’t―” he attempted to say, but I cut him off.

“No! I don’t want to stop talking to you. You’re.. my friend and… I don’t know. I want to understand.”

Shock and anger had never been natural to me.

He looked so genuinely surprised by my response that my apprehension faded slightly. 

_ How would I ever be okay with this?  _ I wondered. 

I had to reconcile the fact that the boy I had a crush on had just told me that he was nearly two centuries old and would  _ skip the soda please, but any chance he could have a nice glass of warm blood with dinner? Thank you very much _ . 

I should have wanted to run for the hills. 

But what was I going to do otherwise? Live with this information the rest of my life and turn away from the one person that had put all of their faith in me? 

“It’s going to take time,” I explained in a gentle voice, afraid of what it would do if I raised it any higher. “But I don’t want you to regret telling me.”

We held each other’s gaze for a silent, extended moment. 

“I don’t want you to regret knowing me,” he said quietly, nudging my foot with his own. I cracked a small smile. 

“I don’t think I could.” I took another breath and tucked my hair behind my ear. “So this is my new big secret.”

Adam allowed himself a breathy chuckle. “What was it originally?”

“It’s small in comparison now but… I couldn’t get you off my mind either.”  His face split into a heart-stopping smile and I knew in that moment that I would keep any and all secrets for this man.

“I guess we’ll have to do something about that,” he replied.

“I guess so,” I agreed.

“How’s your salad, miss?”

I jumped at the sound of Lacey’s voice, having forgotten that we were, in fact, still in a public place with people that didn’t know about the existence of vampires.

“Oh! Fine. Thank you.”

“And you’re-”

“Yes, I’m all good,” Adam responded smoothly before she could go about proposing an additional meal. 

“Right. Okay―Wave me down if you need anything else.”

“We’ll actually take the check whenever you get a chance.”

Both myself and the brunette waitress quirked our heads a bit. 

“S-Sure, sir.” With that, she turned on her heel and made her way back to the hostess stand.

“Trying to make a speedy get away?” I asked, swallowing a bit. While my mouth was feeling slightly less dry, it seemed as though my salad would remain neglected. 

“Only if you want to,” he replied, shifting his shoulders back. 

I reached for my phone, which had spent the entirety of our conversation face down on the table. If I chose to believe the internet, the FBI agent listening to my every move just got an earful.

While there were a couple texts on my screen, I was more interested in the time―and we had plenty of it. 

“Let’s just... talk for a little while longer,” I suggested. 

And that’s what we did. 

Without too much pressing, Adam edited every lie that he had told me and the rest of the world. In reality, he really had been the first one to join his parents; he had considered Gwen and Ella sisters long before ever meeting Terry and Frank; he had lived in the majority of America’s rainiest towns and sat through high school more often than he’d like to mention.

Hearing the truth, strangely enough, helped rationalize the whole situation in my mind. It allowed me to rein in my wild imagination, saving myself from rabbit holes of speculation.

When we did finally leave the restaurant over an hour later, Adam, with one less fifty dollar bill in his wallet, reached for my wrist before I could open my car door.

“Thank you... for wanting to understand when you could have run.” His hand lifted to rest on my upper arm, squeezing ever so slightly.

“It’s still a lot to process,” I told him, “but I want to be worthy of the risk you took.”

“I understand that… and I trust my choice,” he replied, a faint smile on his lips which I returned.

We rode back to my house in comfortable silence, disturbed only by the music thrumming through the car.

Adam was a vampire. 

_ Alright _ .

Some part of him was attracted to the blood running through my veins. 

_ We can work around that. _

I may have been a little in love with him. 

_ I’m so fucked _ .  


	5. Us

Adam allowed the engine to idle as we sat in my driveway. The sound of raining falling on the roof of his car provided us with a quiet symphony.

“Well,” Adam finally breathed, “I don’t know if I really got to say as much tonight but...You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I responded, tucking my hair behind my ear. “I’m glad we got to talk about…  _ Everything _ . Really. It was a-uh… An enlightening night, I guess.” Adam snorted beside me. 

“You could certainly say that. Again, thank you for trying. There are few people I would trust with this kind of secret, and I know you found out under complicated circumstances-” (It was my time to snort) “I’m glad that someone else knows. It’s quite the burden to carry something like this on your back for so many years without having anyone to share it with…” From the tone in his voice, I could sense the genuine relief he felt. 

I reached across the center console and I gripped his cold hand.

“I’ll be all ears from here on out, even if it takes a while to process ,” I told him, emphasizing my promise with another tight squeeze before I allowed his hand to drop back into his lap. Adam thanked me before glancing at my house. 

“I suppose I should get you back inside,” he suggested. “I don’t want your dad to worry.” At the mention of my father, I glanced down at my phone and saw that we had actually made it back in such good time that Michael wasn’t expecting a text or call from me for another hour. 

“I’ve got a little time, actually. Do you want to come in for a bit?” Adam hesitated, glanced at the house once more, then back at me before nodding. 

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” he said with a shrug of the shoulders before turning the car off and climbing out. Before I could even gather my bag from its place at my feet, Adam was opening my door. So this is why I had thought he was always in a hurry in school.  _ Super speed _ , I thought,  _ cool. Got it.  _

I warily avoided hitting my head as I stepped out of the car, before scurrying into the protection of my front porch as Adam followed behind me. The living room was comfortably warm in comparison to the chilly autumn rain. I tossed my jacket on to the couch then tucked my hair behind my ear.

“I’d ask if you wanted anything to drink but...” I started, an apologetic look crossing my face as I looked at him. Adam chuckled. 

“I’m fine, thanks. Your house is cozy,” he commented, looking up at the wooden beams on the ceiling. He looked so incredibly handsome leaning against the back of the couch, his hands in his pockets. It was hard to imagine that the man standing before me could possibly be something that nightmares are made of. I could have taken a picture of him, just to prove how unthreatening he could be. It was just as that thought crossed my mind that I remembered Mia having asked for a picture of my mystery man. 

I thanked him for the compliment before going over to my purse and pulling out my phone. “Hey, I know this is kind of an awkward question, but seeing as we’re going to try to trust one another, I’m just going to come out with it: Would you mind if we took a picture together?” Adam gave me a surprised look. A realization dawned me. “Wait… If I take a picture of you… Will it show up?” 

Adam stared at me for another beat before he began to laugh, his hand hitting his stomach once. I blushed heavily as I stood in place. He stopped after another moment and ran a hand through his hair.

“God, you’re so adorable,” he said, which made me blush even more. “Yes, of course I’ll show up on camera.” I caught myself pouting at my naive speculation, but it appeared so had Adam. “I’m sorry. You didn’t know−I shouldn’t have laughed like that. Just a rookie mistake.” He had pushed himself off the couch and stood before me. “I have a lot of explaining to do, so don’t worry if you don’t know something.” 

His comforting smile was infectious. Would I ever be able to be in bad mood around him?  _ And had he really called me adorable?  _

“Alright, come here,” I said, pulling up the camera application on my phone. Adam went to go slide his arm over my shoulders but then became aware of just how tall I appeared to be, which caused him to look down at my feet.

“Christ, Brynn, why the hell are you wearing those things?” he wondered, a questioning eyebrow raised on his forehead. 

“Because I don’t like feeling short,” I replied simply, crossing my arms over my chest. He stared at me with squinted eyes and his mouth slightly ajar.

He spoke slowly. “But...You’re at least a good four inches taller than most of girls. I’d think that would make you the opposite of short.”

“I feel short beside you though…” I answered quietly, biting the inside of my lip.

“I’m six foot three―I think you’re perfectly fine without those damned heels.” I begrudgingly complied and kicked my shoes beside the love seat. “See? It might be a little easier for you to stand now,” he explained. I shot a disappointed look in his direction before he slid his arm back around my shoulders. I had to admit that without my platforms, I fit perfectly into his side. 

Adam offered to take the picture, since his arms were a little longer. I handed the phone off to him before wrapping my arm around his waist and placing my other hand on his stomach. I could feel his muscles tighten beneath his button down and was mildly satisfied that I could garner a reaction out of him. A few clicks later and I grabbed my phone from his hand. 

The picture on the screen made me want to smile like the big idiot I was. Adam looked ever the model with his perfectly white-toothed grin and glittering, intensely blue eyes. I looked genuinely happy. I also had to agree with Anna that my boobs _did_ look awesome in that dress. 

We looked like a real couple, despite the fact that the details of our relationship were just... a little fuzzy.

“That looks great,” Adam commented as he leaned down beside me, his arm still around my shoulders. He was so close, I could smell his cologne; he smelled absolutely delightful.  _ God, I’d kill to be wrapped up in a sweater of his _ ... I briefly day-dreamed before being brought back to reality. “You should post that.” Adam’s suggestion made me stop slightly. I had the full intention of sending it through to my group chat with Mia and Zoe, but I was surprised to hear that he wanted it to go up on social media; he was indeed Mr. Mystery.

“Are you sure?” I questioned, looking up into a gold flecked gaze. 

“Yes. I mean, why not? I’m not usually one for pictures, but I’m sure people are curious as to how this night went for us,” he explained, shrugging and rubbing the back of his neck. So maybe he wasn’t oblivious to the gossip around school.

“Alright, if you say so,” I replied. I was ecstatic at the idea of being able to do something as normal as posting a picture with the guy I had a very serious crush on, however. I fiddled around on my phone for a moment, then just like that, our faces were plastered all over everyone’s newsfeeds. I put my phone down on the table beside the couch and looked back at Adam. “Now I wait for a barrage of questions to roll in,” I half-joked.

Adam chuckled as he rolled up his sleeves. His arms were (unsurprisingly) perfectly muscled, and while I admired the taut tendons beneath his skin, I became aware of the highways of pale veins that made their way up his arms. 

“Adam… Another question. This may be as silly as the first, but… Do you have blood in your body?” I wondered, making eye contact with him.

“It’s not a silly question, Brynn.” He leaned against the back of the couch again. “I actually do have blood. It’s obviously different from yours, and it flows differently. The only thing that really stops is your heart... And technically the lungs and stomach… But my stomach still digests everything, just in a different manner. Because of the blood- ”I winced at the mention of his diet, “I just have more iron in my system.” He looked thoughtful as he mulled over his anatomy. “My lungs don’t necessarily need air either. I just breathe because it feels uncomfortable not to.” I nodded slowly, eyes wide. “I’m scaring you, aren’t I?” he asked, looking down at his black shoes. I bit my lip and sighed.

“No, you’re not scaring me, per se. I’m just… still a little shell-shocked,” I explained. Adam looked back up at me and nodded, a shy smile spreading on his lips. “I’ll get used to all of this someday.” I shifted closer so that I was standing in front of him, and took his hands in mine. “I promise,” I added, smiling back at Adam. It was then that I realized that our faces were so close to one another’s that if one of us made a move, a kiss wouldn’t be out of the question. Adam seemed to be aware of the shift in the air and glanced up first at my eyes then down at my lips. 

“Someday,” he repeated, looking back into my eyes with that mischievous smile creeping onto his lips.  _ Is he going to kiss me? Holy shit, what if he does?! I need a mint right no-  _ My train of thought was interrupted when Adam leaned up and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. “As much as I’d love to stay, I should probably get going. It’s been a long night for the two of us,” he explained, and I could tell that he knew that if we were to actually kiss, the night would only become much,  _ much _ longer. 

We both righted ourselves, and with a quick goodnight and a promise to text me in the morning, Adam gave me another kiss on the cheek before heading off into the night. 

I watched his car pull out of my driveway, shut the front door slowly, then wandered over to the couch, where I plopped down into the leather cushions.

Adam was a vampire. Alright, we could work around that. I was comforted by that fact that he wasn’t fully interested in human blood...Or at least I thought he didn’t crave my blood in particular. I breathed out sharply, falling horizontally and staring up at the ceiling beams. 

An obnoxiously loud ping alerted me and I popped up, startled by the sudden sound. I looked at my screen and saw that Zoe had texted our group chat. I opened it and all there was were the words  _ CALLING YOU. RIGHT NOW. _

Sure enough, my phone began to ring approximately a second after the message sent through and I picked it up. It was to be assumed that Mia was over Zoe’s because I received an earful of head-splitting screaming.

“Oh my God, Brynn! He’s  _ gorgeous _ !” I heard Mia squeal, which was followed by another round of uncharacteristically girly squeals.

“ _ God _ , guys, it’s like,” I checked the time on the cable box. “9:30 here… It’s what? 12:30 there? Where are you?”

“In my garage, duh,” Zoe answered. I remembered that that was the one place where we could make all the noise we wanted and Zoe’s parents wouldn’t care one bit. “But Brynn...You must have Photoshopped that picture. It's just unnatural to be that attractive. Seriously,” she went on. I rolled my eyes and switched the phone to my other ear.

“No Photoshop, I swear. Hell, I didn’t even really put a filter on it. I could get another picture if you guys need to see for yourselves.”

“Wait…Another picture? Does this mean that you’re going to see each other again? Are you two  _ dating _ ?!” Mia questioned and I heard a slight shuffling, assuming she was grabbing the phone from Zoe’s hand.

“Well… I think we might be on that road. We kind of came to that conclusion tonight. The details are little fuzzy right now, but it’s nothing we can’t straighten out.”  _ Oh yes, being a vampire is just a fuzzy little detail, _ I commented mentally.

“Well,  _ ho-ly shit _ ,” Zoe replied, enunciating the syllables of each word. “You have managed to hook up with the world’s most beautiful man a month into moving to this place. Could you  _ be _ any more annoying?” she teased, causing me to roll my eyes once more. 

“I guess I could,” I began. “We didn’t hook up. He kissed me on the cheek and we said goodnight. That’s all.”

“Um… Excuse me?” Mia responded. “You didn’t kiss him? Are you being serious right now, Brynn? If I were you, I would have made out with that boy like I was the first person to ever discover kissing.”

“Thanks for the enthusiasm, Mia,” I answered in a jokingly tight voice. “But no―he’s just old-fashioned, I guess. We’re just taking it one day at a time.”

“Whatever you say. When it does happen―which I’m sure it will, knowing you― you have to tell us all about it. I’ve been aggressively single for too long and you left me here with Zoe and Joe. I need to live vicariously through you,” Mia explained dramatically. I could imagine Zoe pushing her middle finger into the side of Mia’s face from approximately 3,000 miles away. 

I laughed to myself, hit by a small pang of how much I missed the two of them. “Okay, okay―I’ll be sure to keep you updated. In the meantime, I am dead tired and my feet are killing me. I’ll text you guys later, okay?” The two of them agreed that they were just as tired and we all said our goodbyes before hanging up. 

I resumed my position, face up on my couch with my eyes trained on the beam above me.

Adam really was too perfect. Yes, he was a vampire, and that explained some of his more fantastical attributes, but that didn’t take away from the fact that he had an easy charm and thoughtfulness that set him apart from so many others. He seemed to be so much more than just a blood-thirsty nightmare; if anything, he was an absolute dream. 

When ten o’clock finally rolled around, I called Michael, who was staying in Seattle for the night. He asked me how the dance was and while I knew it was bad to lie, I told him that we had a great time dancing and that Adam had just dropped me off. 

“Glad to hear you got out and had some fun,” my dad replied while I twisted a piece of hair around my finger. 

“Yeah, it was an interesting night,” which wasn’t entirely a lie. 

“Now... do you think you’ll be going out with this boy, again?” I could hear the prying tone in his voice, though he seemed to be trying to remain impartial. My father was the worst actor I knew. 

“Well, yeah. Maybe. We’ll see.” I tried my hardest to avoid talking more about my possible relationship with Adam and instead turned the conversation back on my dad, asking him what he was up to and when he would be back in Granite Falls. He replied that he’d be back the next evening, and that maybe we could go out for dinner since we hadn’t spent all that much time together. I agreed with the idea and after saying goodnight to each other, we both hung up and I flicked on the TV from my place on the couch. I absentmindedly peeled off the fashion tape I had used to keep my dress from falling open as I watched an old episode of a home renovation show. 

When midnight suddenly loomed on the cable box clock, I decided it was about time for me to end this incredibly long day and climbed up the stairs to my bedroom. Once I was dressed in a large t-shirt and boy shorts, I climbed into bed with my computer in my lap so I could check on all of my notifications. Just in the few hours it had been posted, the picture of Adam and I had garnered more likes than I’d ever received, from both people in Ocean City and Granite Falls. 

There was going to be quite the buzz on Monday morning. 

With a final huff, I put my laptop on the floor beside me, pulled my hair into a bun on top of my head, and settled into my pillows, allowing a heavy sleep to sweep through my body. 

. . .

 

I stood alone on the beach, the wind whipping up the long, navy dress I wore. Everything was silent save for the crash of waves and the call of gulls in the dark sky above. The clouds along the horizon were dark, announcing the arrival of impending storm. The boardwalk was deserted, not a soul present, and that’s when I realized I was back home in Ocean City. I recognized everything― the lifeguard station with its red cross-bearing flag stirring in the wind, the usually busy restaurant down the block that was now quiet, and the ramp that led down to my mom’s street. 

The soft coo of a child startled me and I turned to see a young boy, two years old at most, toddling towards me. His golden brown hair was as whipped up as mine was around his precious little face and his deep green eyes stared up at mine. He reached his hands up, fingers flexing as he signaled me to lift him. As I did, he nuzzled into my shoulder, nodding off with his fingers clenched around the strap of my dress. I found myself wondering who the child could have belonged to, but it struck me that he had the same sandy colored hair I had as a little girl.

I was startled once more when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind. I held back a muttered expletive that threatened to leave my lips when I heard a purring voice in my ear. 

“He must be tired out from today,” came Adam’s voice ringing through my eardrums. “And you must be too,” he added, sending a shiver down my spine as he placed a kiss on the space just below my ear. 

I turned to face him, again struck by how well the details of his face were etched in my memory. His bright azure eyes were there to greet me, a smile spreading across his face.

“Now why would that be?” I wondered, which seemed like a natural response, but I was also genuinely curious. His eyes seemed to darken ever so slightly. 

“I think you, me, and your mother’s guest bed know why,” he replied, taking the little boy from me and bouncing him slightly. I was shocked by his remark and was about to question him once more when I noticed the hand he had clenched around the toddler’s knees. Resting on his third finger was a platinum wedding band. In a moment of shock, I glanced down at my own left hand and was greeted by a shockingly brilliant diamond ring and complimentary band. The single, round diamond glinted in the last remaining sunshine. 

I withheld an astonished gasp. In this dream world, this was nothing new. 

“Remind me to apologize to my mom later then,” I replied, the words alien to mouth as if I weren’t really saying them. It was as if I was becoming an audience to the conversation now. Adam chuckled, which seemed to awaken...who? _Our son?_

“She’s just glad you’re here alive and well.” His answer had a dubious tone. “Especially after the last time…” His voice trailed and it was then that my vision grew blurred and I was yanked suddenly from the scene.

I started quickly, sea air lingering in my nose. I adjusted to my surroundings and found myself still resting in my bed, alone, in Granite Falls, Washington. No engagement ring rested on my finger. There was no little boy reaching for me. I was still myself with a life and a past I was sure of.

I shook my head quickly and my hair fell out of its bun. I left it down, turned over on my stomach and tapped my pillow. One date and I was already dreaming about marriage.  _Christ_. But I was curious about our conversation:  _ What could have ever gone wrong in my sweet little hometown? _ I wondered. I had to remind myself that dreams were just that ― _ dreams _ ― before sighing heavily and shifting to look out the sliding door to where I could see the first signs of gray light peeking through from the east. I then looked over at my clock. It was five thirty. 

“Great.”

. . .

 

Monday finally came and I could feel myself smiling as my eyes popped open. 

Monday meant school which meant I got to see Adam. 

Who knew that I could suddenly be excited by the thought of a  _ Monday _ .

I rolled out of bed, rubbing my eyes as I wandered down the hall to wash my face. Just as I dried my face on one of the towels hanging on the back of the bathroom door, I heard a car beep from outside. Curious to see who it could be, I scurried back into my room and as I peered out of the sliding door, I saw Adam climbing out of his car. 

_ What the hell? _   There were a few quick knocks on the front door. I scrambled around my room, throwing on my black jeans and a denim shirt, haphazardly tucking the shirt in as I raced downstairs. I nearly tripped on the way but was able to open my door to find Adam standing there without a scratch. He looked as handsome as ever; I was pleased to find a content smile on his lips.

“Uh… Hi? What are you doing here?” I asked, regretting not having put on my make up earlier.

“Well… I thought you might want a ride to school. You know, save some gas,” he replied, putting his hand in his pockets.

“Really? That would be… Great. Do you mind waiting down here? I still have things to do.”

“Like what? You look great.” His response garnered a quick, far too loud, nervous laugh. 

“That’s sweet but I need to just pull this,” I motioned to my face, “together. I’ll be down in… Ten minutes. Tops,” I told him, smiling. He rolled his eyes, but he sat down on my father’s couch, throwing his arms over the backs of the cushions. I scurried up the stairs quickly, trying to put on my make up as fast as I could. 

“Shit,” I muttered as I wiped at the powder t hat I had fallen down my shirt.

“Are you okay up there?” Adam questioned; I could tell he was standing at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just… Spilled some stuff,” I admitted, tossing my brush into my makeup bag. I swiped on a layer of bright red lipstick and once I was sure I looked set for the day, I ran back down the stairs to find Adam standing, his eyes focused on me.

“You look lovely,” he said, smiling at me before walking over to the front door and opening it. “And I  _ hope _ that’s all you need to do,” he added, smirking at me.

“Yeah, let me grab my jacket and I’ll be right out,” I told him, grabbing my black trench coat out of the closet.

Adam held his car door open for me and I was sure to watch my head as I ducked inside. Before I could even click on my seat belt, Adam was speeding down the road towards school.

“You really have to stop doing that. I’m going to get whiplash one day,” I half joked, shifting in my seat.

“Sorry―should I move at human pace for you?” he asked devilishly, turning his eyes on me as we made our way down the main street that led towards the high school.

“If you could, I would appreciate it.”

“Well… I’ll try but I can’t make too many promises that I’ll be successful.” He went on to ask me how the rest of my weekend was; I told him that I had gotten dinner with my dad at the same place he had taken me on Friday. Lacey had indeed been working again that night and eyed me warily as she passed by the table.

“She was probably still expecting you to come in and order something,” I joked, earning a quick chuckle. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised. She seemed to be crestfallen to say the least.” Adam pulled into the parking lot and found his normal spot. He cut the engine and we climbed out simultaneously, though I reached back in to grab my bag from the floor. When I turned back around, I was greeted by a mass of curly brown and blonde hair, bombarding me and causing me to take a step back in defense.

“Nice to see you too,” I commented, straightening myself as I looked down at Kristen and Anna’s over-anxious faces.

“Oh my God, _oh my God_! You and Adam?!” Kristen shrieked not so quietly, making me blush since Adam was still standing right on the other side of the car… Scratch that, he was already standing next to me.

“Yes, now _ shut up _ ,” I whispered back even though I knew Adam could hear it. 

“What happened to you guys on Friday? We were looking for you everywhere,” Anna said, staring up at us incredulously. 

“We were-” I started to respond but Adam cut me off.

“I decided that I wanted to take Brynn out to dinner. We realized that we didn’t really want to go to the dance, so we just went out,” he explained. I looked at him for a second then realized that anything he said would be entirely believeable; the same words from my mouth would have seemed like a pallid excuse.

“Oh. Well how was it?” Anna asked Adam, looking at him with wide, brown eyes.

“It went nicely if I do say so myself. How about you, Brynn?” he asked, looking down at me.

“Yeah, it went really well.” Yeah, totally. Because I didn’t find out that my maybe-boyfriend- _ thing _ was an undead, blood-drinking centenarian. Yes, nothing of that sort.

Anna eyed us suspiciously and Kristen just smiled, taking it in stride like Adam had meant it to. 

“Well, I’m glad it did. Aren’t you, Anna?” she asked, nudging our friend. Anna nodded, a strange look crossing her features. I could nearly hear the grumble of a green-eyed monster from deep in her stomach. I smiled at the girls though, pulling my hair over one shoulder.

“We should get to class. Don’t want to be late,” I said, looking at Adam. 

“Yes, we should. I’ll talk to you guys later,” he said, one cold hand on my shoulder as he leaned down to kiss my temple. He turned, flashing us one last dazzling smile, before heading off to his first class.

“Brynn, what the heck?! How did you ever get this lucky?” Kristen wondered as we walked. I sighed, shrugging.

“Lucky’s definitely one word for it.” When they both served up their most withering looks, I quickly amended myself. “Don’t get me wrong! I’m really happy about whatever it is we’re doing, but I’m afraid of what people might say.”

“Well, whatever. They don’t matter. Brynn, you’ve got _ Adam Wood. _ That’s something that  _ none _ of the other girls in this school have gotten, Anna and I included. You shouldn’t worry about it.” I nodded, smiling slightly before Kristen went off to her class and Anna and I headed to ours.

Lunch couldn’t have come fast enough. I slammed my locker door shut and headed towards the lunch room, weaving my way through the throngs of people around me. When I passed through the doors, I glanced to my left, hoping to see Adam seated at his usual table; I was surprised to find his seat unoccupied. Instead, Ella and Frank sat together with their heads leaned close together. Ella glanced my way and perked up, her incredibly white toothed smile spreading across her pretty face. She said something to Frank quietly before standing up.

“Brynn!” she said, catching me as I was about to go sit at my usual table. Her voice was sweet and clear and it now struck me how odd it was to imagine her being a vampire as well. I wondered if she knew that I knew. “Adam told me to let you know he’s sitting over there.” She motioned to the far corner of the room, where Adam was indeed sitting by himself, fiddling with an apple in his hands.

“Oh. Okay. Thanks Ella,” I replied, smiling down at her. She smiled in return and strolled back to her seat beside Frank, who had been watching her with his midnight blue eyes. I made my way over to my own cobalt blue gaze, and couldn’t help but feel the looks I received as I walked past the rest of the students.

“Long time no see,” Adam joked, smiling up at me before motioning to the seat beside him. “Would you care to sit with me today?”

“Yes, of course. You could always sit with me and my friends…” I noticed the look he gave me, which told me that he didn’t want to risk bringing up anything from this weekend in front of anyone outside of present company. “Nevermind―Here is fine. Are you going to eat that?” I asked, nodding at the red apple in his hands.

“You know I won’t,” he said, putting it in front of me.

“Thank you. I didn’t get much breakfast this morning.” I bit into the apple, a bit of the juice running down my chin. I wiped it carefully away with the back of my hand, sure that my lipstick was still in place, and looked at Adam. “What would happen if you ate regular food?” I asked, curious.

“Well, it’s about as appetizing to me as drinking warm blood would be for you,” he explained, his voice low as a group of girls walked by, eyeing us. 

“Oh. So no food. Got it,” I said through a breathy laugh, resisting the urge to make a face. At that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket. There was a message from Mia plastered on my screen.

_ Are you with him? _ I sighed, typing back quickly.

_ Yes. At lunch. Now leave me alone _ , I answered, locking it and throwing it into my bag. Adam gave me an inquisitive look. 

“Mia, one of my friends from home. She’s been pestering me all weekend,” I explained. “She, uh… She’s decided she wants to live vicariously through me.” He nodded in understanding, laughing to himself.

“You’re obviously still close to her, then,” he speculated and I nodded in return. “And… Zoe, right? I’m guessing that they know about Friday?” His eyes were wary― I could nearly see him calculating the risk of telling me his deepest, darkest secret. 

“They saw our picture, if that’s what you mean,” I responded, and it was as if he released a breath he had been holding for quite some time. “They were curious about you. Mia is convinced you are some kind of masked crusader, since she hasn’t been able to find you on any type of social media.” Adam laughed again, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Well, I wouldn’t think documenting my everyday life would be conducive to keeping my family’s little secret under wraps,” he replied. “And as for the masked crusader bit… I don’t understand why everyone seems to be under the impression that  _ I’m _ the hero.” I shot a disapproving look in his direction. 

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” I scolded, which seemed to surprise him. “Maybe you’re not the hero, but you’re certainly not the villain,” I reminded him. He opened his mouth as if to respond, taking in a starting breath, but seemed to think better than to fight me on the subject. I’m sure he would learn that I could be rather stubborn when I wanted to be. “ _ Anyway _ … Speaking of the picture of us… Can you feel people looking at us as much as I can?” I wondered, shooting a glance behind me and noticing how many sets of eyes were turned our way before darting to avoid my own stare.

“Yes, I had realized that. As if I couldn’t already hear what everyone was saying,” he answered. I tilted my head in questioning; Adam paused for a beat and sighed before responding. “I can hear your pulse right now―Imagine what whispers can sometimes sound like.” As he explained the situation, I winced. First, in reaction to the thought that he could hear (and was probably thinking about) the blood running through my veins. Second, remembering how I had talked about him quite a few times without second thought. I hadn’t imagined that anyone else could have been listening in. 

“Got it.” I listed off the things I had found out about him in my head: First, no food. Second, he was lightning fast. Third, he could hear  _ everything _ . 

“Do you know what Kristen and Anna are talking about right now?” I wondered, genuinely interested in the conversations people would have when I wasn’t sitting right there. The idea was also incredibly intimidating. 

Adam sat silent for a moment while I chomped into my apple once more. While he seemed fine one second, a dangerous look crossed his face. He took a short breath. 

“You don’t happen to harbor any good feelings towards Emily Carter, do you?” he wondered, looking at where my friends sat then back at me. 

I considered his question. Emily was a friend of Anna’s that I talked to occasionally, though she irritated me more than any of the people I had met since moving here. She had an incredible ability to take any conversation and turn the attention on herself. Anna could ramble on a bit at times, but not like Emily could the minute someone decided to pay attention to her. 

I didn’t think I had such a negative image of this girl until Adam mentioned her. “Not particularly,” I replied. “Why?”

“She seems to love filling the air with nonsense, doesn’t she?” I nodded, rolling my eyes. “She’s a terrible gossip, really. I wouldn’t waste your time being civil with her, if I were you,” he warned. I gave him a surprised look before casting my eyes in Emily’s direction. She was in fact sending furtive looks our way, whispering to the other girl beside her. This hadn’t been the first time that people were talking about me since I had come to Granite Falls, but I never in a million years would have thought that everyone would start not only talking about myself, but  _ us. _

“Noted,” I replied, letting the thought of idle gossip fall into the back of my mind as I turned back to that incredibly handsome face of his. His expression told me that he was still listening, but in an attempt to bring him back into the conversation, I posed a question. “So… I’ve been wondering about something.”

“What would that something be?’ he asked, now making eye contact and allowing for a small smile to return to his full lips. 

“Well, it’s bit odd, but what color were your eyes before… You know.”

“Oh. I hadn’t expected that,” he replied. “Well, from what I can remember, I had green eyes. Dark green, like my mother’s.” _ Your mother who died over a century ago,  _ I added mentally. I had promised I would learn to understand, but that didn’t mean I still couldn’t be in awe of just how long Adam had been alive. 

I was also struck by the image of the young boy from my dream the night before, with his wide, deep green eyes. I imagined how Adam had wrapped his arms around me… around  _ us.  _

“What makes you ask?” Adam wondered, pulling me out of my reprieve.

“What? Oh, just out of curiosity. I couldn’t imagine what you would look like without the blue,” I explained, looking into his cobalt kaleidoscope gaze. “Green suits you, I guess,” I added, telling myself that he could have yellow eyes and pink hair and he’d still be the most glorious thing I had ever seen. Adam chuckled in response to my comment, running a hand through his hair.

“It has been a long,  _ long  _ time since I’ve looked in the mirror and seen anything but this particular shade of blue. The rest of my family could say the same, for the most part.”

“So… Exactly how long have you been with your family?”

Adam opened his mouth then quickly shut it, thinking over the numbers. After a second, he responded. “I believe I’ve been with them for a little over… 120 years or so.”

It was now my turn to do the math.

“Wait.” Something didn’t compute. “Were you not with them for ten years?” I questioned, tilting my head to the side in wonder. Adam took a deep breath, looking down at the tray in front of him which I knew was ultimately a prop in his constant human performance.

“No, you see, I... I was being a bit  _ rebellious _ during that time,” he explained, continuing to stare at the food before him. I began to imagine just what he meant by rebellious and my breath hitched at the thought. 

“By rebellious you mean...” I trailed off, as if it were an open-ended question.

“I went off course for some time. You could call it my… Ornery teenage phase, I suppose.” He paused for a moment, contemplative. “My eyes were a different color during those years.” 

His eyes seemed to open like a storybook or, more accurately, a historical novel. There were thousands of stories to read there; perhaps some of the pages were stained in human blood. I blanched slightly at the thought, not just because of my aversion to think of Adam in that way in my own mind, but also because I could hardly imagine what it was like inside his brain… What it was like to replay those dark memories for decades upon decades, blaming yourself for all the blood that had been spilled.

There was no wonder why Adam didn’t seem to consider himself the hero.

He seemed hesitant as he monitored my reaction. It was as if the cogs were turning in his brain, contemplating whether or not I would get up and never stop running or if I would stay just where I was.

I was in far too deep to consider the first option (as if I would ever run from him), so the second reaction seemed to be my best and only plan of action. Choosing my words carefully, I finally broke the silence. 

“Those years don’t negate all the rest, though,” I told him, my voice low as I leaned closer to him. “Ten years in your lifetime… Well, that’s nothing.” It was more than half of my own lifetime, but regardless, what I said was true. It was a blip on the screen of his life, a detour of sorts. “That doesn’t make you any less of a good person,” I assured him. My hand reached out for his, which had been rested in a fist on the table. I had intended it to be a comforting gesture, but Adam seemed to pull away infinitesimally before relaxing, his cool hand loosening so I could squeeze his fingers earnestly. He breathed out a short laugh.

“I may need you to remind me of that some time. It can be rather difficult, at times, to differentiate the things that make me a good man and those that make me a bad man. More often than not, the bad seems to outweigh the rest, but that seems a bit dramatic, doesn’t it?” 

“Not dramatic… It’s understandable, I guess. It’s, uh… Hardly anything I know about or can imagine, but it must be damn near impossible to remove yourself from the things that you’ve done.” He nodded while I squeezed his hand once more, allowing my own hand to return to its spot on the table before us. I was surprised when he reached out again, taking my hand in his and turning it backside up. He seemed to be inspecting an inch-long scar beneath my index finger.

“My aunt’s dog didn’t take kindly to me pestering it. I guess I got what I deserved for playing with something that could bite back,” I explained, shrugging and looking down at the thin, white line. 

I didn’t realize how poignant my statement was until a beat later. Adam seemed to have either missed the heavy symbolism in my words, or maybe he just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“And this?” Adam asked again, turning my arm onto its other side so he could inspect the oval spot on my forearm that was a shade darker than the rest of my skin. 

“Curling iron burn from last year,” I admitted, blushing. “The product of wielding a four hundred degree object at six in the morning.” Adam chuckled, rubbing his thumb across the burn once before allowing me to drop my arm back down. His fingers had ignited a small fire in my veins, surprisingly gentle and soft against my skin. I wouldn’t mind having that feeling running through my body for the rest of time. 

I’d become addicted to this guy one day.

“Prone to accidents, aren’t we?” he wondered, raising his eyebrow playfully. 

“I don’t think I’m completely a lost cause,” I responded, giggling to myself again. “I never mean for these things to happen, but I’ve always figured that things are supposed to happen for a reason and the best that I can do is try to understand that. I sure as hell don’t bother dogs now and I’ve learned that I need to be fully awake to even think about turning on a curling iron.” Adam nodded, contemplating my reasoning.

“Well, in that case, do you think that you could possibly avoid injury long enough to spend some time with me this afternoon?” My eyebrows raised as I looked at him. 

“I-I think that can be arranged,” I responded, stumbling over my words. I had spent so many minutes and hours thinking about what it would be like to be friends with Adam; you’d think I’d be prepared to do something as simple as spend time together outside of school. But now that we were at this junction in our… Relationship, of sorts, the idea of alone time was almost intimidating. Perhaps not just the one-on-one conversation, but the quiet moments. The intimate moments… “I’m game for anything,” I added, hoping he wouldn’t be able to hear the apprehension in my voice. 

“Wonderful. Then we can go right after school ends,” he replied, smiling at me warmly. I was about to nod before remembering that I was, in fact, still a regular student.

“Um, how long are you thinking? Because I might have homew-” Adam’s incredulous look cut me off.

“Are you seriously concerned with the amount of homework we are going to have?” he wondered, looking down at me just as the bell rang. We both stood, gathering our things. “I’ve noticed that you do your work in class and I know for a fact that we won’t have anything in our physics class.” His observation brought a slight pink to my cheeks, but I was curious about his last assumption.

“How would you know that?” I wondered while we walked out the back doors of the cafeteria towards our class. “Am I going to find out that you can read minds now?” I laughed at the thought, but Adam’s apprehensive pause made me weary. 

“Well, about that…” he began in a low voice, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding my wide-eyed gaze. 

“Pardon?” My tone was full of disbelief. “Am I supposed to believe that you can hear everyone’s thoughts right now? Wait, can you hear  _ mine _ ?” I panicked at the thought.

“If you could speak a little softer, Brynn, I would appreciate it, since not everyone is as privy to my… situation, as you are.” I apologized quickly before he continued in a quiet voice. “But, if you must know, I’ve always been able to tune into people’s thoughts… I’ve learned to control it over the years and for the most part it’s easy to ignore, but things slip.” I felt my face heat up. It was embarrassing enough to think that Adam had been able to hear what I said to my friends out loud, but now… I wanted to melt into a puddle of teenaged embarrassment on the hallway floor. “However, I seemed to have reached a brick wall when it comes to you. Pure silence.” 

My puddling seemed to be reversed. 

“Oh, well, that’s… interesting,” I responded, refraining from showing the relief on my face. At the very least I could be safe in my own mind. I considered all of things Adam must have heard in his lifetime; all of the things he must have heard  _ today.  _ How exhausting it must have been to carry the words of others in your mind and not be able to react. 

“Interesting is one word for it,” Adam replied with a smirk as we continued down the hall, my legs moving quicker than usual to keep up with his long strides. “I hadn’t mentioned it because of the block. You’re about as easy to read as a blank book, which I suppose is refreshing… I’m usually just so sure of how others perceive me, but you…” He looked down at me then, his electric blue eyes wandering over my face. “You’re a mystery.”

“I could say the same about you,” I replied, earning a quick smile. My cheeks warmed as we made eye contact for an extended moment. Our proximity to one another, which had unintentionally grown closer as we walked, caused our hands to brush one another. With a surge of courage, I took it upon myself to eliminate any distance between our palms and interlocked my fingers with Adam’s.

Like he had at the table, Adam initially flinched at the contact but seemed to relax as we walked hand in hand through the hall. His hand was chill against my palm which had grown warm with my blush, but I noted how our fingers locked together like pieces to a puzzle. Maybe he was thinking the same thing when he squeezed my hand tightly. I hid the grimace that threatened to show just how tight his grip really was. 

When I looked back up from the floor and back to Adam’s handsome profile, I noticed his eyes were trained down the hall, just beyond the door to our classroom. I followed his gaze and noticed Emily and her friend, whose name escaped me at the moment ( _ Jill? Jessica? J-something? _ ), staring at the two of us. I glanced back up at him and found a scowl on that beautiful, full mouth of his. I could only imagine what he was hearing at the moment and shook my head. 

“Adam,” I said quietly, getting his attention. “They’re just stupid girls… They don’t deserve the death glare. I’ll be fine,” Adam snorted in response, holding the door open for me.

“All I will say is that they’ve chosen the wrong person to think badly of,” he replied, releasing my hand before sliding his own to the small of my back for a moment as we walked into the room together. We made our way to our shared desk, where our seats seemed to gravitate closer to the other than they had ever been before.

It felt like I had entered into this bubble of sorts with Adam, where our bodies naturally leaned toward the other and everything around us felt just slightly muted in color and sound. This bubble, however, did not stop me from realizing that Matt had walked into the room just a few moments later, shooting a quick glance in my direction before throwing an incredulous look toward Adam. 

_ Whoops _ . My features turned apologetic; I had forgotten that I usually went to class with Matt. Maybe he’d understand if he knew that I had otherwise been processing the fact that Adam could read other people’s thoughts, but unfortunately that would be one hell of an explanation. I figured he’d get over having to walk the five minutes alone, but obviously he was more perturbed by the sight of Adam’s hand touching mine. 

I’d clearly awoken more than one green-eyed monster this afternoon. 

“Get a room,” Matt muttered under his breath as he walked past our table. Evidently, he’d been listening to Emily’s gossip during lunch. I blushed a deep shade of pink and threw an angry look in his direction, but noticed Adam had shifted beside me, throwing his arm over the back of my chair. The stance was so relaxed and cool that the words that left his mouth didn’t seem so uncharacteristic. 

“Go fuck yourself,” Adam stage-whispered, flexing his hand so that I could hear his knuckles crack quietly. I stifled a laugh, surprised by the curse that, in my own mind, seemed foreign to his lips. It was easy, when considering his age, to imagine that Adam would be prim and proper and an unfailing gentleman, but then I told myself that he had lived a full life, where countless changes had occurred. It was unrealistic to think that he hadn’t changed in that time as well. 

Just in the short time that I had spent getting to know him, I knew that he could be as proper as he desired to be. Adam was chivalrous, polite, and occasionally standoffish, but now it seemed as if I were opening up a new side of him; a side that had been influenced by the many decades he had lived through.

He was still eighteen years old after all. 

Hearing Adam’s response, Matt did a double take back at us, his blush mirroring mine now. It must have been the first time Adam had ever really dropped the wall he usually kept up around other people. I think everyone in hearing distance was a little shocked by his nonchalant tone, and even a girl behind us giggled nervously. I looked at Adam, biting my lip.  _ Maybe he’s more human than he wants to believe,  _ I thought while I leaned back in my chair, allowing Adam’s arm to rest just against my shoulders.

Mr. Barbato, oblivious to the interaction that had just occurred, started the class with a throat-clearing cough and an announcement that there was no homework that night, since we were going to have an exam later that week. I shot a look at Adam again and found a knowing smirk on his lips. I didn’t need telepathy to hear the  _ I told you so _ . I pulled a notebook out of my bag beside me and settled into my chair once more, comforted by my own personal vampire firewall.

. . .

 

I hurried out of the gym room and towards Adam’s car, my trench coat flapping behind me in the post-storm wind. Adam was already leaning against it, his arms folded over his chest. It was unfair for a striped sweater to look so good.

“Alright, where are we going?” I asked, walking around the car to the passenger side.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he told me, smiling as he slid into his seat.  _ Always the mystery,  _ I thought as I climbed in after him. I noticed how people watched us as Adam backed out of his parking space, but soon their faces were blurred as he sped out of the lot. 

A few minutes passed in silence as Adam skimmed through his music, clicking from one song that featured a single acoustic guitar, then to what I guessed was a harpsichord, then to another song that I recognized as being from this century. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and watched as the trees zoomed by us, a sea of jade and deepest blue-green. 

I turned my attention to his profile, studying each curve and bend I found there. I had only seen such smooth skin on the statues that stood like soldiers in the Greek wing of the Metropolitan Museum. Little had I known all those times I had wandered behind my mother looking at those gods that I’d be riding along beside one of them, listening to Lord Huron sing about the ghost on the shore. 

“So… Care to tell me about that moment with Matt Flagler today? I’m just a little shocked that those words actually came out of  _ you, _ ” I commented. Adam glanced at me as he continued down the winding road, one hand steady on the steering wheel. 

“I was hoping you hadn’t heard that, but I suppose I was being a bit overly optimistic,” he replied, flexing the fingers wrapped around the wheel momentarily. He was wearing a rather wry smirk. “Matt’s mind, I’ve found, is just a bit too…  _ loud  _ for my liking. I guess that was my own personal way of sending a message back, loud and clear.” Adam looked at me again. “And I should apologize for my language― I guess I’ve developed an occasionally colorful word choice over the last century.”

I laughed at his admission. “No need to apologize,” I told him. “I haven’t lived that long and I still have to contemplate starting a swear jar for myself. I was just surprised that Mister Mid-Nineteenth Century would ever talk like that.” It was Adam’s turn to laugh. 

“Let’s not make that nickname stick,” he replied, taking my hand in his free one and squeezing it slightly. “But I’m sure you’ve gathered that while I might be a bit old-fashioned, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t lived through the past century and a half. I’m not as... highly-strung as you may think.” I nodded in response, contemplating just how many ways Adam had evolved past his Victorian upbringing. I realized just how much we had to talk about now that he had given up his little secret. He would have decades and decades worth of stories to tell and I had always been the little historian; I’d be a more than willing student. 

I was about to ask Adam about these changes when I noticed he was pulling over to a small clearing on the side of the road. 

“Is this where we’re going?” I asked hesitantly, turning my attention from the trees beside the car to the man beside me.

“No, but this is the last place where I can leave my car for a few miles,” he replied, cutting the engine and motioning for us to get out of the car. I followed suit slowly, opening my door and looking at the scene before me. 

“So where  _ are  _ we going, then?” 

“Well, if you would promise to remain slightly less accident prone than usual,” I made a face at his teasing, “then I was thinking I could take you to my favorite part of Granite Falls.” I raised my eyebrows slightly, interested in this mystery location.

“How far away is it?” I wondered, glancing down at the black ballet flats I had chosen that day. His mouth twitched into a smile. 

“Not too far, if we use my method,” he answered, shrugging on his leather jacket and leaning his head to one side as if to crack his neck. 

“Your method?”

“My only advice is to hold on tight,” he replied, and before I could even form the words to ask him what he meant, he had pulled me on to his back and launched us into the sea of green.


	6. Nerve

I had never been more mad at my lungs in my entire life.

The sound and the air that were required to make a scream refused to rise in my throat and instead a squeak was all I could muster as Adam hurtled through the woods. I did have enough willpower to follow his instructions and clung tightly to his tall figure, which seemed to be under hardly any stress from carrying me on his back. 

For the first few, blurry moments, I had stared with wide eyes at the flashes of green around us; after the initial shock, I thought it’d be better for my sanity to close my eyes. It was as if I was sitting on the hood of his car, the accelerator well passed the speed limit of the parkway. I buried my face into Adam’s shoulder as the wind whipped in my ears, my fingers digging into the fabric of his sweater. 

Before I could even gather enough strength to lift my head, we came to a relaxed halt as Adam jogged into an area that seemed to be less dark than the woods had been. He set me down, releasing my legs from around his waist. I managed to open my eyes then and much like the dream I had had a week previously, everything seemed just a little too green… Maybe just a little too  _ fuzzy _ .

“Brynn, are you okay?” Adam asked tentatively, grabbing my shoulders lightly. 

My response wasn’t as articulate as I may have hoped for. 

One moment, I was looking up into those bright blue eyes, filled with concern, and the next, everything darkened around the edges as if someone had turned up the contrast on the scene. My knees buckled beneath me and I was vaguely aware of Adam catching me before I fell to the grassy earth. 

. . .

“Brynn?” 

A hand smoothing my hair away from my face seemed to wake me from my daze. I lifted my head in a jerky motion before lying back down, silver stars floating in my eyes from the vertigo. 

“Easy there. Are you alright?” Adam asked me once more, carefully helping me lift myself into seated position beside him. “I am so sorry.”

“N-No, you’re fine. That was… An overreaction on my part,” I replied slowly, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. I breathed slowly for a moment before jumping a bit when Adam rubbed my back comfortingly. “That’s a… Neat trick,” I continued, laughing quietly to myself and shaking my head to get out the last of my shock. Adam laughed in response, though it sounded a bit tense to my ear. 

“Yes, a ‘neat’ trick.” I could hear the quotations in his inflection. “It’s usually how I like to get around, but I should have explained it to you before I put you in that position,” he said, looking at me with worried eyes. I shook my head again. 

“It’s okay. Really. I mean, yes,  _ some _ explanation would’ve helped, but it’s alright. Just promise me that we can walk back?” Adam smiled in response. 

“Of course―anything that is okay with you is okay with me.” I took another few moments to just close my eyes and breathe in deeply through my nose, out through my mouth. When I finally opened my eyes, I was able to fully process my surroundings. 

Perhaps everything had appeared too green to me  _ because  _ it was so lush in this little meadow. The heavily watered vegetation was brightly colored, not just in jades and evergreens, but in oranges and yellows and reds as the autumn shade crept through the anatomy of the leaves. It seemed as if, in the spring, there would be an abundance of wildflowers but for now there was just overlong grass surrounding us. I pushed myself up off the slightly damp ground, wiped my hands on my jeans and turned myself around to observe the rest of this little bubble. I noticed that Adam was watching me the entire time with a small smile on his lips… As if he were amused by my wonder. He wasn’t wrong about my awe.

“Wow,” I said quietly, tilting my head back to look up at the sky which had become significantly lighter. It was a ghost of a noise, but I was aware that Adam had stood up beside me. He took my hand in his, making me turn my head to look up at him, and we mirrored smiles at each other. “So, this is your favorite place in Granite Falls?” I wondered aloud, using my free hand to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. Adam nodded in response.

“If you listen carefully, all that you can hear is the world continuing on as it always has and always will. It can be… Therapeutic, I suppose, to escape to a place where I don’t have to hear others thoughts and feel the noise around me. The silence is so pure… Even now.” I was reminded once more that when Adam sent out his mental probes, my brain seemed to have developed a fire wall. Maybe I had something wrong with me. Maybe I was just on a different wavelength. I nodded my head then, looking back around me at the scene. 

“I certainly see the appeal. It just  _ smells  _ so good,” I commented, breathing in deeply and welcoming in the scent of rain on the freshly fallen leaves. “It’s so beautiful.” 

My voice was quiet, and Adam’s was even quieter; that didn’t stop me from hearing him murmur, “So are you.” My cheeks warmed at his words. Would I ever get used to his compliments? 

The same words coming from my mouth seemed unnecessary. After a century and a half, Adam probably did not need to be told that he was so incredibly handsome that sometimes it felt as if I were looking at the sun. I was, once again that day, overtly grateful that Adam couldn’t hear my thoughts.

I pulled my hair over my one shoulder, looking at the damp, green ground before casting my eyes back up to meet his. “So… Time to walk home?” I wondered. Adam smiled warmly down at me.

“Of course. We’ll take it nice and easy, considering your proclivity towards danger.” I made a face at him, remembering that he would not budge if I chose to push him. 

“ _ Ha-ha _ , very funny.” We began to walk hand in hand through the trees. Adam had hopped down to help me off the fallen tree we had come across some time later when I finally spoke again. “How does the running…  _ thing  _ work? I’m curious,” I wondered, putting my hand on Adam’s shoulder and trying to avoid blushing when his arm wrapped around my waist momentarily. 

“The running  _ thing _ ,” Adam started, an amused look crossing his features, “is as easy to me as breathing is to you. It’s as if the world slows down around me as opposed to me blurring through it. It’s easier to rely on instinct than it is to pay attention to what’s in front of you, though―it’s a feeling rather than an action.” I nodded as he spoke. While I was completely interested in his explanation, I was also listening to his deep, smooth voice which was filled with thoughtfulness. He had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about this feeling in particular. I wondered what it was like to explain it to someone who didn’t know exactly what he was talking about.

“So you don’t ever worry about tripping or running into anything?” I asked, thinking of my own attempts at traversing this forest. Adam chuckled in response. 

“No, I never have. If anything, I’d be more concerned for the thing that I would run into. It would take a hell of a lot to distract me,” he explained. 

“ _ Fast as a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, _ ” I said with my best impersonation of a 1950s radio voice. “And you say you’re not a superhero.” Adam laughed at me and rolled his cobalt blue eyes. 

“You are one funny girl,” he responded, shaking his head while I smiled up at him. 

“Like I didn’t already know that,” I replied. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Oh no, it’s refreshing. It’s been a long time since someone’s been so… Unguarded around me. I’m sure that you’ve noticed that my siblings and I aren’t the most approachable people from afar.” I shrugged at his observation, though I didn’t disagree.

“That is true―I have to say you weren’t the  _ most _ welcoming when I first moved to Granite Falls.” I bit my lip, remembering that first day which seemed a distant memory even if it had only been a few weeks before. How fast things could change. I noticed that Adam cringed slightly when I mentioned it. 

“Again, I apologize for that. I hadn’t expected someone like you to walk through the door that day.”

“Someone like me?” 

Adam looked thoughtful again as he developed a response. “I suppose I shouldn’t say it that way. You surprised me, for once in my existence. I had finally settled into the routine of the school, adjusted to everyone around me, then you walked through the cafeteria doors and… I was caught off guard, to say the least.” 

I could feel my cheeks warming as he described seeing me for the first time. “And then when I couldn’t hear you thinking, it frustrated me more than I had been in quite some time. It also didn’t help that I was-” He paused, an apprehensive expression crossing his face. I raised an eyebrow curiously and received a sigh. “I hadn’t eaten in quite a couple weeks.”

Images raced through my head as I tried to imagine Adam in full hunting mode. The picture didn’t seem to stick, thankfully, regardless of reality. 

“Oh,” I replied shortly, looking forward to avoid Adam catching the mildly scared look in my eyes. I had promised him that I would try to understand, but I still needed time. I still needed to learn so much about him. I also still needed to come to terms that a large part of my... _boyfriend_ (the word didn’t feel right in my mouth just yet) craved my blood.

You know― normal girly things.

Adam nodded solemnly as we continued to walk through the trees. Some time later, we reached the edge of the trees where Adam’s car remained parked. It was as if the sky had held out long enough for us to return from the meadow and had decided to return to its constant; rain began to patter against the top of my head as Adam held open the passenger side door for me. Just a moment later, he was seated beside me and starting the engine. He pulled a u-turn back on to the highway and fiddled with his phone. I wondered just how many songs he had stored on that thing. 

“Can I pick something?” I wondered, offering my palm up. 

“Oh―yes. Sure.” Adam handed me his iPhone, which didn’t have a case on it, since he would never have to worry about dropping it.  _ Of course.  _ I thumbed down through his various playlists, of which there seemed to be at least fifty, each with hundreds of songs listed. 

“Is there a song you  _ haven’t _ heard?” I wondered aloud, receiving a laugh. 

“You may be hard pressed to find one,” Adam replied. “I even have a couple albums worth of ancient monk chants.”

“You’re kidding,” I answered, raising my eyebrow.

“You probably wish that I was.” With a quiet giggle, I did acknowledge the playlist named _ Monastery  _ and continued to scroll. I was interested in the word  _ Home  _ as I made my way down and was surprised to find one of my favorite songs leading the list. Soon, the quiet plucking of guitar strings filled the car. I sang quietly along to the first few lines:

_ Home is where I want to be, _ _ pick me up and turn me round... _

“I’m guessing that you’re a fan of the Talking Heads then?” Adam wondered, casting his eyes my way as I placed his phone on the center console between us. I nodded in response.

“I remember dancing in the kitchen with my mom to ‘Psycho Killer’ when I was probably five years old.” I smiled at the memory before continuing. “Although, I do like this cover a lot. Iron and Wine has always been a favorite of mine, too.”

“We’ll have to exchange playlists one day. So far as I can tell, you have good taste. Also, your mom sounds like she’s quite the good time,” he commented, taking my hand now that it was free of his phone. I laughed to myself and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. 

“You can definitely say that. She’s much more… Outgoing than I’ve ever been. You can count on Jane to be the center of the party,” I added, fondly thinking of my mom; one moment, she was so serious and so ladylike, then the next moment, she was throwing her head back, laughing until she couldn’t breathe. I got another pang of homesickness in that moment.

Images of Adam one day meeting my mother made my heart palpitate ever so slightly.

“You’re not exactly a wallflower from what I’ve gathered. You seem to be getting on just fine for having just moved here.” I shrugged at Adam’s observation. 

“I just happened to sit next to the right people on the right day. I guess that I got lucky,” I rationalized, realizing just how lucky I was that I had been seated beside Adam that day. I wonder if things would have been the same if we didn’t have any classes together; would we still have started talking? Would he have felt the same connection to me? I ran several scenarios in my head as we drove along, Adam’s car hugging the curves of the road. 

We were back at my house in no time at all―the beginnings of “From Eden” were just starting to play as we pulled into my driveway. The two of us climbed out and hurried on to my front steps to avoid the now steady rainfall. 

Under the protection of the porch, I pulled out my keys from my bag, jingling them in my hand out of nervous habit.

“Well, I’m really glad we got to do today, even if you scared me half to death,” I teased, smiling up at him before glancing back down. “So… I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow?” I asked as I scooped a piece of hair behind my ear.

“Yes, you will,” Adam replied, standing in front of me with his hands in his pockets. We stood there for a long, tense moment, the time seeming to tick by at a snail’s pace. I was absently aware that I was still shifting my keys in between my fingers until Adam grabbed my hand to silence the metal clinking. I had looked down momentarily but the sudden movement brought my attention back up to those deep blue eyes of his; it had also brought my attention to how close our faces had become. 

My mouth opened ever so slightly as I licked my lips, which had gone dry in that moment. 

“Brynn… What would you say if I were to,” Adam looked down at my lips as he spoke, “kiss you?” His pupils flashed up to my own quickly as the words left his mouth.

“I…I…” My cheeks went ablaze; I was at a loss for words. Of course I  _ wanted _ him to−I had wanted to kiss Adam from the very moment I laid my eyes on him− but here he was, standing before me in all of his glory and all I could think of were my shortcomings. 

In comparison, I was just a little girl who had gotten herself in too deep with Adonis’s younger, hotter brother.  

Before I could articulate a coherent response, Adam had taken it upon himself to answer for me.

“Here−Let me help,” he said with a smile before he closed the space between our lips. For a moment, I was shell-shocked. I stood for a second, my hands frozen at my sides and my eyes wide. Then, as if a cog started turning in my brain once more, my body recognized just who I was kissing. I found myself standing on the balls of my feet so I could properly slip my arms around Adam’s neck; I was acutely aware of Adam’s hands on my hips and how they felt almost too soft.

Immediately, I knew that I would never tire of kissing him. No one else could have compared. His lips were just so damn  _ soft  _ but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t feel the strength behind them. My one hand slipped from his neck to his chest as I shifted to deepen the kiss; his breathing hitched. Unfortunately, as quickly as the kiss had begun, it was ended when Adam held my face in his hands and pulled me away easily. 

I frowned and furrowed my brow. He chuckled quietly. 

“Eager, aren’t we?” he asked, amused by my reaction. I noticed that his pupils were rather blown out, making his eyes darken as his palms slid down to my shoulders.

“I was enjoying myself.” My reply would fall under the category of  _ petulant.  _

“As was I, but I think you’re going to have to be patient with me.”

I quirked my head to the side in question.

“I’m trying to think of a way to explain this in terms that won’t send you running…” he explained. After a brief moment, he continued, “My... restraint has never been tested like that”

“Your restraint?”

“Brynn, I have to tell you, standing right here with you is like… like being a kid in a candy shop.”

“By that, you mean...?” A sigh escaped him.

“You’re the candy and I’m the damned five-year-old.” I swallowed.

“So when I’m close to you like that… Well. you can imagine how difficult it would be to overlook that sweetness,” he explained, pushing back a piece of my hair. “I don’t want to hurt you so please don’t be mad.”

“I’m… not,” I replied slowly, staring into his apologetic eyes. “But Adam, am I really that sweet?” He laughed and skimmed one hand back up the length of my neck so he could hold my face.

“Okay, perhaps sugary sweet isn’t the right word to describe you.” I wondered if that was a compliment or not. “You smell like... lemon and sandalwood and... and it’s like you have the ocean running in your veins.”  

I blushed at his admission; what a thing it was to be compared to the ocean itself. 

“Well, when you put it that way…” I answered quietly, glancing down at my house keys which must have dropped from my hand during our kiss. 

“If that gives you some kind of understanding, then I ask again that you be patient with me. We both have a lot to learn,” he explained with a kind smile. While he spoke, he continued to hold my cheek as he looked down. It took everything in me not to test his patience some more. “In the meantime, I’ll let you get inside; I think I can hear your father coming home. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Tomorrow,” I repeated, smiling, before Adam leaned down to kiss my forehead. “Let me know when you get home safe,” I added, out of force of habit. Adam smirked down at me.

“I think I should be okay, but I’ll text you. Goodnight.” With an incredibly swift kiss to the lips, Adam walked back to his car, hands in pockets. I watched as he pulled out of my driveway, still a little shell shocked by our exchange. 

_ It’s like you have the ocean running in your veins.  _ I never thought I’d have a boy tell me such pretty things. I reminded myself that Adam just wasn’t any boy, however.

Like Adam had guessed, John and my dad pulled into the driveway a few moments later. I bent down to grab my keys and when I stood back up, Michael was walking up the stairs with his coat held up over his head to block the rain. I waved at John as he pulled out of the driveway. 

“Hey Brynny, what’re you doing out here on the porch? How was school?” my father asked, using his own keys to push open the front door. I followed in after him, asking myself,  _ School? I had school today? _

“Good, I guess. We went over some problems for a physics exam I have later this week and I got to see pictures from the dance,” I replied, dropping my bag next to the couch and throwing my jacket over the cushion. 

“Oh, well that’s good.” Michael walked past me and placed his own bag beside mine. Now I understood where I got that habit from―it had driven my mom insane whenever I did that. “Did you just get home? Did you have something after school?”

I looked at him for a second, calculating what his reaction to Adam would be. _ Eh,  _ I thought. _ He’ll live. _

“Yeah, actually. I was hanging out with Adam,” I answered in my best attempt at a casual tone. My father raised his eyebrows at me while he placed a stack of files on our kitchen counter. 

“Adam? You mean Adam Wood? That boy you went to the dance with?” I made an affirmative noise and nodded while I went to grab a granola bar from the pantry. I was irked by his use of the word “boy”; in my mind, Adam was much,  _ much _ more than just some boy. “Are you two dating or something?”

“Well… Yeah, I guess we are,” I answered, making my way back to the couch. 

“Wait―I’m playing catch up here. When did this happen, young lady?” Michael asked in a fatherly tone. I resisted rolling my eyes at his question.

“I mean, we’ve been talking for a little while but Friday night, we… We just decided we’d give it a try. He’s a really good guy, Dad.” I did my best to make it sound like any other start to a relationship as opposed to  _ Yeah, Dad, he saved me from being a car sandwich with his mysterious vampire powers and now your daughter’s dating someone 10  _ times  _ her age. _ I looked back up at him and saw his brow furrowed in either anger or confusion.

“Well... if that’s the case, then I would like to meet him personally. That’s the... fatherly thing to do, right?” This time, I couldn’t resist the short laugh that bubbled up from me. 

“Yeah, I guess it’d be your best shot at pulling off the ‘big, bad, protective father’ act, Dad,” I teased, folding my feet beneath me as I clicked on the TV to the same home improvement show that always seemed to be on.

“Hey, don’t be a smart ass.” I laughed again. “I’m serious, Brynn. We’ll set up a dinner or something soon. It’s my responsibility to be the big, bad, protective father.” He sat on the other side of the couch as he spoke, tossing a single file onto the coffee table in front of us. 

“Okay, Dad. Whatever you want―I’m sure Adam would be more than happy to work something out.” 

“Soon,” Michael said sternly, before chuckling and shaking his head. Even he knew the act wasn’t entirely natural just yet. We sat beside one another in silence after that; I’m sure my father’s mind drifted to the rather dense file in his hands, while my mind drifted to the feeling of Adam’s lips that still tingled on mine. 

. . .

‘Soon’ was much longer a time period than my father had intended. 

Just a few days after I had mentioned my relationship with Adam, Michael had a few cases dropped on his desk that required weeks and what turned into months of bickering with clients and traveling and general painstaking attention to detail. I wasn’t entirely upset by this development.

It was now the dead of winter, and while it never got horrendously cold, it rained or snowed nearly every single day, making me question my sanity in choosing to live in one of the rainiest towns in the country. But then I was reminded that my rather insane decision had a sane explanation now.

_ Adam _ .  

I opened the door for my source of sanity at precisely seven o’clock nearly three months after my father had first brought up having dinner. The jitters that had racked through me the entire day must have been present on my face as I greeted Adam with a tight hug, which he returned before running a delicate hand down my hair. 

“Well hello to you too...What’s wrong?” Adam whispered in my ear. I felt a shiver roll down my spine as his cool breath tickled my neck.

“You and dinner don’t exactly mix,” I answered, looking down once he had released me and playing with the bottom of my black blouse.

“I think that I’ve worked around it.” I looked back up to find his incredibly bright cobalt gaze. He hadn’t been in school the day before, much to everyone’s surprise, since it had bucketed rain that day. Everyone had grown so accustomed to Adam and his family being absent only on the few sunny days that his singular absence peaked interest around school; I had answered the question  _ Where’s Adam? _ more often that day than I would have cared to. I had told my friends that he had a stomach bug, but I knew that my boyfriend was far from bedridden.

He had gone hunting to prepare for this night. While it was still an uncomfortable image in my head, I knew that hunting was a necessary evil. It was, at the very least, comforting to know that the only things in danger were the local fauna and not the actual locals.

The day away from Adam had given me the opportunity to notice just how much we had integrated the other into each of our lives. We had spent the past three months spending more and more time together, to the point that there hadn’t been a day in the last month that I hadn’t see Adam. School obviously afforded us plenty of opportunities, but then we would spend our afternoons lazily reading books in the local coffee shop or sitting on my couch watching movies whenever my dad wasn’t home.  

He had become as much of a constant in my life as the sky above. I still wasn’t quite sure how I deserved to be so lucky, and I didn’t think I would ever understand.

However, the day apart had helped me to remember that, while I loved being part of an “us”, I still needed time to myself every once and awhile. 

“I know, but...” I started, continuing to hold his gaze, concerned.

“Please don’t worry.” With that, he kissed my forehead and stood straight again. I whirled around and saw that my dad had walked into the room, a skeptical look crossing his features. “Hello, Mr. Sloane,” Adam greeted him, my favorite grin on his lips.

“Hello, Adam.” Michael returned the greeting in a strained voice and shook his hand (by the looks of it) firmly. He pulled away quickly, reacting to Adam’s cold grip. “You stick your hand in a freezer recently?” he asked, staring up at him.

“Oh,” Adam laughed, “I just stopped off at the gas station to put some air in my tires and forgot my gloves.” Michael eyed him again then snorted silently to himself.

“Gotcha. Erm,” my father hesitated, casting his eyes up and down Adam before continuing. “I’m not sure you’d be considered a growing boy anymore, but I am sure you’re hungry. Let’s get some dinner in us,” Michael suggested, leading the two of us into the rarely used dining room. Much like the other rooms in the house, the walls were painted a light gray with white trim. There was a mirror that ran the length of one wall; the opposite wall housed three abstract paintings filled with grays, blues, and whites. A rectangular glass table stood in the middle; I had had to wipe some dust off it before setting three placemats at one end of the table. 

I swallowed nervously as Adam held my seat open for me and I sat, fidgeting with the white cloth in my lap. I was just glad I was sitting with the mirror to my back so I wouldn’t have to watch my nervous expression throughout dinner. I felt him rub my shoulder quickly in reassurance before taking the seat across from me. Of the two chairs that were at the ends of the table, my dad took the one in between Adam and I, the concerned look still stuck on his face.

I wondered how long this act would continue. I was sure my dad was just trying to put on the best fatherly face he could manage, but it mustn’t have felt natural. Not that he wasn’t a good dad, because he was, but he just wasn’t used to dealing with the boy stuff. My mom had been there for the more complicated years; this was uncharted territory for my poor father… But he didn’t have to pretend to be such a hard ass.

“So, what is for dinner?” Adam’s cheery question pulled me out my daze. I shook my head slightly, a move that Michael wouldn’t catch, but Adam definitely would. In return, Adam sent a short glance my way, a small smile pulling on the corner of his mouth.. 

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” my father replied, his face lighting up a bit more because spaghetti seemed to be his favorite; that was most likely because it was his best-made dish.

“Oh, great,” Adam said, smiling. “That’s one of my favorites.” It took everything not to snort at the phrase. Maybe Adam’s mind reading would come in handy for the time being, but that wouldn’t make this dinner any more appealing.

Regardless, Adam received the reaction he was hoping for―Michael flashed a smile in his direction before remembering his act. “Good. Then I’ll be back in just a minute.” With that, he walked out of the room, presumably into the kitchen, which left Adam and I with a moment alone.

“One of your favorites, huh?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow at him. He shrugged his shoulders, clad in one of my favorite button downs.

“Italian food wasn’t necessarily all the rage when I was growing up...but what would stop me from liking it now?” he countered, sending a pearly grin back my way. I rolled my eyes and snorted in response; I was glad he was somehow finding the humor in this.

Michael walked back into the dining room carrying a large glass bowl filled with the offending dish. It smelled absolutely delicious; I could only imagine how unappealing it was to Adam’s nose, however. My father nestled a pair of large, silver serving forks into the pasta and grabbed the garlic bread he had made earlier that night from the table beneath the mirror. 

Adam took a deep breath in and made an appreciative noise in the back of his throat. “That smells great, Mr. Sloane.”  _ Everything was just great tonight _ , I thought. I also noticed that he set his shoulders back slightly, as if readying himself for battle.

“Yeah, Dad, it really does,” I agreed, playing into our charade. I was about as hungry as Adam must have been; my stomach was still too tied up in knots to even think about food. I didn’t notice until the words left my mouth, however, that I sounded just as strained as I felt. Maybe I wasn’t as good an actress as I thought I was. 

I felt Adam tap his foot against mine in what I assumed was a comforting gesture. I smiled quickly back at him and hoped my dad wasn’t paying too much attention. Thankfully, this was the case and Michael went about serving our dinner. 

“Tell me when, Adam,” Michael said, piling on a spoonful of spaghetti and then another. 

“That’s fine,” Adam said, the most infinitesimal bit of panic scarring his otherwise smooth voice. My dad nodded, placing the plate in front of Adam and serving four meatballs on top. Then he handed over my plate―it was a half serving of Adam’s. I could have sworn I heard a simultaneous gulp come from the two of us. 

My father settled himself back into his seat, plate filled with steaming spaghetti, before he spoke again. “So, Adam―” He paused to sprinkle some parmesan cheese atop his meatballs, causing my nose to wrinkle in response. “I never really got the full story of how you ended up in Granite Falls.” Adam had twirled some of his pasta around his fork and carefully lifted it to his lips while Michael spoke. I watched with muted guilt as he slid the fork into his mouth, his shoulders hunching ever so slightly. 

Dinner. It  _ had _ to be dinner. 

At this point, I would have preferred to have met in a boardroom and discussed the birds and bees with my father rather than put Adam through this.

He cleared his throat before answering. “When we first moved from the East Coast, we lived in Seattle for a couple of years―right in the Wallingford area. It was really nice but Eliz-I mean, my mom preferred to live in an actual small town, especially with seven of us living together. Eventually, my dad found out that the chief of medicine position was open, so we decided to move up here,” he answered, pushing around his dinner with his fork.

“I could see how five kids could be a little much in some of those houses,” Michael responded, sipping at the beer in front of him. “And I’m sure you get a lot more bang for your buck out here― it’s definitely a reason that the commute is worth it for me.” Adam nodded, taking another bite of his dinner.

There was a shift in his shoulders.

“Now, how did people as young as your parents end up with five kids in high school? I’ve done business with your father a few times and he doesn’t look a day over thirty-five.”

“Well, Simon was my dad’s resident at the hospital in New York and they became close friends after a while. After my parents’... accident, they said it only felt right that they should take me in, considering both my father and mother were only children and my grandparents had already passed away.” It was my dad’s turn to nod as he listened to Adam. I was glad to see that the grumpy look had left his features― maybe he was just as taken with the way my boyfriend spoke as I was. “I was about… I think, eight years old when they adopted me. Then, as the years went on, they realized they could do a lot more for kids like me, and started fostering my brothers and sisters a few years down the line.”

“Sounds like your parents are the most compassionate people this side of the hemisphere,” Michael commented. Adam chuckled in response. 

“You could definitely make a case for it,” he replied.

Listening to their conversation pulled on my heartstrings. I had yet to meet Adam’s parents for two reasons. The first was, to be completely honest, that I was terrified of meeting them. Not that I thought they would eat me or something like that. 

No. I was afraid they wouldn’t like me. 

I hadn’t voiced this fear to Adam yet, but I had a feeling he knew. The second reason was that he and I were still in the beginning of our relationship. I didn’t want to rush and all the sudden fall in love with these incredibly compassionate people, then have the rug pulled out from beneath me if Adam ever decided that I wasn’t good enough… That he’d prefer someone less… breakable. 

I knew I was being a self-conscious wimp. I tried not to linger on the thought.

“When I first lived with them, I could be a bit… Difficult, since everything was so new and I didn’t really know how to mourn the life I had had before. But as I got older, I came to respect them as much as I would my own parents. I owe them everything that I have.”

“That’s very nice to hear from a young man like you,” Michael said, glancing at me, his eyes more approving than they had been. I couldn’t help but fix his sentence in my head. In actuality, Adam was old enough to be my father’s great, great grandfather.

Adam smiled again, taking another bite of his dinner. I acknowledged the visible gag that occurred right after he swallowed, the indent between my eyes deepening in concern. I thanked my lucky stars that Michael had become transfixed with his own plate of food in that moment.

“So, what were you thinking of studying in college? Have you applied to any schools?” my dad wondered, eating a rather large bite, his mouth open enough to show him chewing.

“Er―I’ve sent in applications to Dartmouth and Yale… Harvard. I had been thinking of studying medicine like my father, but I might get into law. Law has always interested me a little bit more than science.” My father stared at him with raised brows, his mouth a bit slack. I stifled the laugh that wanted to come up from my stomach. 

Mr. Barbato would have been hurt to hear that.

“Dartmouth? Harvard? I’m guessing you get pretty good grades then?”

“Yeah… School has always been easy for me, I guess. I’m just lucky enough that my parents have encouraged me to try harder, you know?” Adam chuckled, wiping at his mouth with his napkin. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was spitting some of his food into it.

“I’d suppose so…. Brynn? You’ve been quiet tonight,” Michael pointed out and I flicked my eyes away from Adam’s face. 

“Oh―Sorry. I’ve just been paying attention, I guess,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders with a nervous laugh as I picked at a piece of garlic bread. Michael raised an eyebrow, his eyes turning skeptical again as he scrutinized me.

“Feel free to speak up anytime, kid,” my dad teased, taking another bite of his dinner. “Speaking of, you’ve gotten in all of your applications, right?” I blushed at the mention of the very near future.

“Yes, Dad. Mom had me apply to a lot of places early admission before I got here so I wouldn’t have to worry about the address change and all of my transcripts would be the same… I haven’t heard back from everyone, though,” I explained, aware that Adam was watching me now. I had put off the subject of college purely because it reminded me that I had a life that I had been planning before I stumbled into this complicated and ultimately supernatural existence. 

“Good. Are you still hoping for Princeton?” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear while Adam tilted his head to the side slightly.

“I mean, yeah, that’s the goal. They’re the best for political science,” I explained, meeting my boyfriend’s eyes momentarily. I had mentioned only a few times my desire to work in politics, since it hardly seemed to be the most interesting thing about me, nor the most interesting thing that Adam and I had to talk about during our time together. I had that future in front of me (possibly) and I was far more interested in Adam’s past.

“There’s always the legal track…” Michael said, his eyebrows raising in a convincing manner. His eyes flashed to Adam, who had once again become preoccupied with his plate, before returning to me.

“I’m only a senior in high school, Dad. Let’s put off the law school talk for a few years,” I replied, taking a bite of my dinner as if to end the conversation. For someone that had always had a five year plan, I had become uncharacteristically focused on the present.

The future... or rather,  _ our  _ future just seemed so… Terrifyingly open-ended. 

My dad seemed to pick up on the finality of my tone and instead turned the conversation back on Adam. I watched as Michael released an onslaught of questions for my boyfriend: he asked about what kind of law Adam would want to get involved in, if he liked living in Granite Falls as opposed to Seattle, if he played any sports―my dad seemed a bit shocked by the negative answer. Adam quickly edited his response by saying that he swam every day at the aquatic club; his muscles fit too snugly beneath his light blue button up to not be in use every day.

I was glad that my father was keeping the conversation at a steady enough pace that it didn’t afford Adam much time to focus on his dinner. The less he ate, the less guilty I would feel. In the meantime, Adam’s persistent charm made me feel more at ease. There was a small inkling in the back of my mind that he simply couldn’t help it―Had becoming a vampire only amplified those traits that made him more attractive to other people? Other humans? I was shaken from the thought by my father laughing at a joke that Adam had made. 

“I have to say Brynn, you seemed to have lucked out with this guy,” my dad said, standing up and clapping Adam’s shoulder as he went back into the kitchen to refill his glass of wine. I giggled to myself, because it was completely true.  _ What weird luck _ , I thought while my eyes followed him out of the room before focusing on Adam across from me. 

“Are you okay?” I whispered, acknowledging the opening of the fridge in the other room. 

“I’d feel better if you took the rest of this,” Adam answered, moving so fast that I wouldn’t have registered movement if it had not been for the extra food that appeared on my plate.

“Oh! Yeah, of course.” I took a big bite to compensate for what had been added to my dinner before my dad walked back into the dining room.

“Glad to see you that finally got around to eating―I’m sorry that I kept you talking for so long,” Michael apologized, taking his seat at the head of the table once more. Adam had composed himself once again and chuckled. 

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Sloane. It was absolutely delicious ― Thank you again.” 

“It was a pleasure. I’m just glad I got to meet this mysterious boyfriend that Brynn’s been spending all this time with these last couple months. Adam, can I get you any coffee?” To this, Adam shook his head. 

“No, no. I’m fine. Maybe some more water?”  _ Something to wash everything down,  _ I thought before my dad said my name. 

“Do you want to grab that?” Michael asked, sipping from his wine glass. I hesitated, looking at Adam apprehensively before nodding. 

“Uh, sure.” I placed my napkin on the table and shuffled into the kitchen quickly to decrease the amount of time they would have on their own. I wondered just how much willpower Adam had left in him as I tilted a tall glass against the fridge’s water dispenser. As I strode back into the room, I caught the tail end of what would have been, to my father’s ear, a hushed conversation. I halted on the other side of the doorway as I listened to Michael speak.

“I like you, Adam, but if you hurt her in any way, I won’t apologize for what I’ll do to you, understood?”

Adam voice was very low as he replied; he could probably tell I was breathing on the other side of the wall. “Understood, Mr. Sloane. I couldn’t ever imagine hurting someone as special as your daughter.” 

“I’m glad to hear it. I’ll cut the bad guy act out now―Just thought it needed to be said.” When I turned the corner, my boyfriend was simply nodding before he smiled up at me. 

“Thank you, Brynn,” he said, taking the glass from me and taking two long drags of water. I noticed that his voice didn’t quite sound as velvety smooth as it normally did, but that was because I was so attuned to it now; my dad wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Instead, Michael was checking his watch. 

“Wow, I hadn’t realized that it was so late. I forgot that I have this damned conference call in the morning with an office on the east coast, which means I’ll have to be up at God knows what hour. You two are more than welcome to hang out in the living room if you don’t have to be home by a certain time?” The question was posed to Adam, who didn’t seem to have been relieved by his gulps of water. 

“I don’t have a curfew usually, but I think my parents were thinking about going hiking in the morning. I should get going,” Adam replied, placing his napkin on the table beside his empty plate and standing. “Thank you again, sir. I’m glad we finally got to meet.” He offered my dad, who had stood up as well, his palm and they shook hands. I wondered if Michael would still be off-put by how cold Adam’s hand would have been after all this time inside.

“Get home safe, okay? It’s icy out there,” my dad warned, before stacking our plates together and placing the mostly empty bowl of pasta on top. “I’m just going to clean up and get to bed. I’ll try not to wake you in the morning, Brynny.” 

“Oh, okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Dad. I’m just going to see Adam out, okay?”

“Of course. Goodnight.” With that, Michael kissed my forehead and strode into kitchen, leaving us in the dining room alone once more.

“C’mon,” I offered, motioning towards the front of the house. “Let’s get some fresh air in you.” Adam nodded, his face, which had remained animated most of the night, falling as he put his arm around my shoulders. The motion would have looked affectionate if my dad looked away from the sink as we walked past, but I could tell that Adam was resting his weight ever so slightly on me. 

The winter’s cold breeze was sharp as knives on my skin in comparison to the blazing warmth that filled my home. The night was inky black, the early sunset completely forgotten; The only light that shone now was the full, alabaster moon above. It cast a luminescent glow onto the front lawn, which was fortunately free of snow. 

“Adam, what do you need?” I wondered, rubbing his back for a short moment before he lifted his arm from my shoulders. 

“Just a minute, please,” he replied, moving quickly away from me and towards the hedges that outlined one side of our property. He sank to his knees in front of a bush that was hidden from my view, his hands clasped on the back of his neck. It appeared as if he was taking in deep gusts of chill air, calming himself for a minute or two, before his head lurched forward in an entirely human motion. I turned my head the moment I heard the gag carry itself on the wind towards my ears. The dinner my father had just made us was not the only thing that was in Adam’s stomach. I would never forget the glimpse of deep crimson red I caught before my eyes snapped shut.

I wasn’t entirely sure how long I listened to his quiet retching before the night was no longer disturbed by the sound. I opened my eyes in response to the silence and warily looked in Adam’s direction.

He was standing up shakily and wiping his mouth off on the sleeve of his shirt. I began to walk over to him but he put up his hand, stopping me from coming any further. I came to a halt, wrapping my arms around myself because I suddenly felt just how cold it was outside. He wiped at his upper lip once more, removing the last bit of blood that clung to his skin before releasing a quick breath. Our eyes met once again; his expression told me that I could proceed with caution. I couldn’t help but race in his direction.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” I asked quickly, throwing my arms around his neck. He stood there for a second, frozen, before hugging me close against him. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, kissing my forehead.

“Yeah… I’m better now. Thank you,” he answered in a soft whisper. I was aware that he was rolling up his sleeves behind my back, hiding the evidence. “I’m sorry that you had to see that,” he continued, nestling his face in my hair. I hugged him tighter in response.

“I’m more sorry that you had to go through that. I should have suggested something else, I should have told him that you’re allergic to gluten―I don’t know. I should ha-” I was silenced when Adam pulled away ever so slightly so that he could press his thumb to my lips. The rest of his hand laid on my cheek, cool but warm in comparison to the winter chill.

“ _ Shhh _ , Brynn. You didn’t need to do anything differently. This was just… A hurdle that we got over. It’s done now and I’m okay and you’re okay… An-and you’re so...  _ warm _ .” His voice trailed off while his thumb tugged my bottom lip down slowly, his eyes trained on the movement before meeting mine. I was struck by their darkness, which was so different from the cobalt blue I had been greeted by earlier that evening. I was also aware of the heat that stirred in them, the overwhelming craving that was present in those midnight irises.

Slowly, he bent his mouth down towards mine, his lips parted ever so slightly. Despite my heart thudding in my chest, I let my eyes flutter closed as our lips met, cool against hot. His arms pulled me closer against him, our bodies molding to fit the shape of the other. 

I had kissed only a few guys in my life but they now seemed like a couple drops of water compared to the entire ocean. I had gotten so used to the chasteness that had followed our first kiss three months before―small pecks between classes, forehead kisses, close hugs― that I had forgotten just how his kiss had made me feel the first time. His lips were just smooth and strong-willed; I revelled in the feeling of his hands clasping at my sides as he held me tight. I wasn’t sure how long we were there, clinging to one another in the cold before Adam seemed to remember himself and pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, looking down at me and wiping away a piece of hair that clung to the side of my face.

“You don’t have to be sorry at all,” I said breathlessly, unweaving my fingers from his hair and placing one hand on his chest, over the area where his heart should have been beating. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“I know… I thought maybe you’d be more upset that I just kissed you after getting sick,” he said with a chuckle that didn’t sound too humorous.

“Oh. Yeah.” I wrinkled my nose at the thought and ignored the iron taste that lingered on my tongue. “It-It’s fine. I certainly wasn’t thinking about it,” I told him, stroking the back of his neck slowly as I spoke.

“Right. You were… Otherwise, preoccupied,” Adam murmured, looking down at my lips once more. I wondered if he would kiss me again. I sure as shit hoped so. 

“Brynn?” he asked after a quiet moment, one of his hands reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and remaining on the side of my face.

“Yes?” I continued to gaze up at him with starry eyes. Kristen would have teased me endlessly for looking so dazed in that moment.

“May I ask you something? And you can feel free to say no.”

“Sure. Anything.” My head tilted in question.

And there on my lawn, in the cold breezy night, my handsome, centuries-old boyfriend looked down at me and asked,“Do… Do you mind if I… if I stay with you tonight?”


	7. Compromise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting spicy, y'all.

“What?” I asked in a small voice, eyes wide. The hand that had been smoothing over the nape of his neck stopped abruptly as I considered if I had actually heard him correctly.

“I asked if you would mind if I stayed with you tonight.” Adam’s voice was soft, back to its velvet cadence. “I understand if you want to say no, I just-” 

“No! I mean, not  _ no _ , but I don’t… I’m just trying to play catch up here. You want to stay here… with me… with my dad down the hall.” I spoke slowly, my brain sluggishly wrapping around the idea.

“Well… Yes. I… I mean, my family was going hunting tonight and going back to my house now, where I’d be alone, when I would rather stay with you seems just… Nonsensical.” My head nodded ever so slightly; I could see his point but I still was considering the matter of my father. 

“I-I would love that,” I started, stuttering over my words as a chill wind brushed against my neck. “But what if my dad hears us? Y’know, coming up the stairs or talking or…” I trailed off at the other possibility but didn’t linger too long on the thought. 

“He just went upstairs―I wouldn’t be surprised if he was going to be asleep in the next five minutes,” Adam told me as he reached up again to move a piece of hair that had caught itself on my kiss-dampened mouth. Letting it fall, he then placed both his hands on my shoulders. “I should get you back inside. I can tell you’re freezing out here.” 

Still shocked by the turn of events, I simply nodded my head and allowed him to tuck me under his arm where I could turn away from the cold wind.

I opened the front door slowly, acknowledging the dim light coming from the kitchen. Since being in Granite Falls, I had noticed that my dad liked to have little lights in rooms where he might have to wander in during the night; he turned them on as a nightly ritual. The dull, yellow light made me breath a little easier because this meant that my father had, in fact, already gone upstairs. If I strained my ears, I could hear the water running from the sink in the bathroom that was just off Michael’s bedroom.

I held a finger up to my lips in a shushing motion, which earned me an eye squint from Adam. He leaned into my ear and whispered, “I’ll see you up there.” With a swift kiss on the cheek, he disappeared from my side and instead became a blur up the stairs. His feet didn’t make a sound, naturally. 

I had forgotten I was dating a vampire for a second there.

Making my own way up the stairs, I didn’t feel the need to keep my footfalls silent―I wouldn’t have had to sneak up if I was actually alone. For good measure, I called out, “Goodnight, Dad! Dinner was great―I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Of course. Sleep well!” was my dad’s response. I listened as the water turned off and the light that flooded from the crack beneath his door went black. I was incredibly grateful that he was willing to put off any conversation about dinner that night until the next morning. Thankfully, my father was as far from confrontational as I was.

I creaked open my door and found Adam seated on the end of my bed, holding my dog-eared copy of  _ Jitterbug Perfume _ . He looked up when my shadow cast itself across his lap and flashed me a smile before patting the bed beside him. I shut the door silently behind me and joined him. 

“Was that quiet enough for you?” he wondered in a voice like wind passing through the trees at night, giving me a smirk. I rolled my eyes jokingly in response. 

“Plenty quiet. Pardon me for doubting your ability to sneak around in the darkness,” I answered, trying to keep my voice as low as possible; at least for the time being. My heart wouldn’t fully slow in my chest until I could hear my father’s low snore from down the hall.

“I’ve had a few decades of practice―I guess that would make me an expert.”

“Ever thought of joining the C.I.A. and becoming a spy?”

“Once.”

I raised my eyebrows at my boyfriend; it was hard to differentiate between fact and fiction when it came to his life.

“Kidding. Mostly. But kidding,” he responded, leaning down to place my book where it had previously lain on the floor beside my bed.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?” I questioned, a small smile playing on the corner of my mouth as he straightened up beside me. 

“Entirely aware. I’m also entirely aware that your heart is beating right through your ribs.” My cheeks warmed at his observation. “Are you okay?” he asked, putting his arm around me, his large hand clasping my shoulder. 

“Yeah, just… antsy is all. I hadn’t seen tonight going this way,” I told him, laughing quietly, as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. Adam snorted but nodded in understanding.

“To be honest, neither had I. But the more I contemplated it, the more appealing it sounded. It helped to focus on you as opposed to…  _ dinner _ .” The word was twisted slightly, as if his mouth didn’t taste quite right. In fact, I was sure it didn’t.

“I can  _ definitely  _ see the appeal.” The damned redness beneath my skin refused to let go. “Speaking of, do you want to… y’know, rinse your mouth out a bit? I’m sure it’d help you forget about it,” I suggested, standing up again. Adam’s eyes casted up to follow me, since I was momentarily taller, and he nodded. 

“That  _ would _ be a good idea…” he trailed off, holding my gaze for a moment longer before reaching his arms out and pulling me close to him. His head rested against my chest; the intimate gesture surprised me, since it inadvertently meant that his face was nestled right beside my boobs, but it didn’t seem as though that was his intention. His eyes were closed and he breathed in and out slowly―I realized that he was probably listening to my heart, which made it skip ever so slightly.

“Thank you for saying okay,” he murmured, squeezing me tighter around the waist, though I was aware that he had put barely any power into the gesture. He was always so gentle with me, afraid that I would break in half if he hugged me too hard.

I smiled softly down at the head of rich, chocolate brown hair that nestled itself against me, before leaning down to kiss the top of it. 

“Of course.” My fingers began to absently run through his neatly-groomed hair. “Any time with you is a good time to me,” I added quietly while my pulse slowed to the same rhythm of Adam’s steady breathing. Seeming to be satisfied with the effect he had on my heartbeat, Adam released my waist and stood up so he was towering over me once again. 

“I think a bit of Listerine would do me some good,” he said as he turned his head in the direction of the door. “Sounds like your dad is settled in too.” 

“Comforting. C’mon,” I whispered before I cracked my door open and slid down the hallway with Adam following me. My feet, now bare since my black flats were kicked beneath the bed, padded softly against the hardwood; Adam’s were near silent behind me. I glanced down and noticed that he too had managed to take off his tan desert boots in the time before I climbed the stairs. I absently wondered  _ just  _ how much he had to slow himself down to appear normal to other people.

I flicked on the bathroom light, warm and glowing against the mirror. Adam seated himself on the edge of the bathtub, elbows resting on his knees as he watched me rummage through the bottom cabinet for my mouthwash. I pulled out the electric blue bottle and handed it off to him before turning to my reflection in the mirror.

_ Oh God _ , I thought. My face was ever-so-slightly windburned from standing outside and my hair had come loose from the bobby pins I had used to hold back a few of the shorter pieces in the front.  _ Good looks, Sloane _ . I pulled a hair tie out of the front pocket of my jeans, used it to tie back my hair, then reached into one of the drawers to pull out my makeup remover wipes. I splashed my face a few times with cold water before straightening up and found Adam standing beside me. He looked at me expectantly, eyebrows raised slightly, before I moved out of the way so he could spit into the sink. I was shaken by the odd, dark purple color that rinsed down the drain. 

“That’s better,” he mentioned quietly, cupping his hand under the water to rinse the stinging mint taste from his mouth.

“I’m sure it is,” I muttered into the towel I was drying my face off with, which provided a nice distraction from the red I saw going down the sink when he spat again. I put down the cloth and reached for my toothbrush, hoping to rid myself of the vague iron taste on my tongue. While I brushed my teeth, Adam took his seat on the tub’s edge once more. Our eyes met a couple of times, each of us smiling at the other. 

I didn’t think either of us were expecting the night to turn out like this.

I had hardly planned on having my boyfriend stay in my home for the night, let alone in the same bed. Then my mind drifted, naturally, to the kiss we had shared outside and how there could be more of that to follow.

_ Baby steps, Brynn _ .

I spit toothpaste into the basin and rinsed out my mouth before pulling my hair from its ponytail. Free from the bobby pins, it fell around my face in loose waves. I jumped slightly when I felt Adam behind me, his hands on my upper arms. 

“You look so beautiful right now, you know that?” he whispered in my ear before kissing just below where my pearl studs remained. I shivered at the feeling of his lips on my skin.

_ Fuck baby steps _ .

“Thank you,” I replied quietly, knowing better than to fight Adam on a compliment. I knew that he meant it; there was no need to be self-deprecating in front of him. “You’re looking rather handsome yourself,” I added for good measure, smirking at him in the mirror’s reflection.

“Well, that I can’t help,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders before squeezing mine lightly. “Let’s get you back to bed,” he suggested, taking my hand in his and turning off the light just before opening the bathroom door. I trusted his eyesight in the pitch blackness much more than my own and soon we were both safely back in my bedroom. 

Adam perched himself on the end of my mattress, rubbing the back of his neck―a nervous tick I knew all too well. I was going to ask him what was on his mind (though I had a good enough idea of what it was) when he posed a whispered question.

“Don’t you want to get into something more comfortable?” I looked down at my jeans and blouse before I met Adam’s eyes again. I hadn’t considered the fact that I needed to change clothes while he was here.

“Oh. Um. Yes.” I hesitated, glancing at the drawer of my dresser that housed my pajamas. “Uh… Yeah. Just, erm... turn around for a second?” I suggested; Adam raised his eyebrows in return but followed the order, pulling his one leg up onto the bed and turning so he was facing my headboard. My cheeks burned as I rummaged through my drawer, where I came up with my only clean options: a loose, long-sleeved pajama top with white lining that had once been part of a set as well as a pair of black boy shorts. 

Calvin Klein may have heard me curse his name in his sleep that night.

“Okay, you’re… Good,” I told Adam, biting my lip and looking to my sliding door to avoid initial eye contact. The drag of breath I heard was reaction enough. 

“That’s definitely more...comfortable,” he commented; when I finally met his eyes, he gave me a warm smile. 

“You’re being an extraordinary gentleman.” I strode over to join him on the bed, using the throw blanket that covered the end of it to cover up my legs. 

“I usually am, aren’t I?”

“You are, but I still feel like I should go do laundry so I can have some leggings or something.” I snorted quietly to myself and tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Don’t think that my virtue will suddenly be tarnished by the sight of your... admittedly gorgeous legs,” he answered, a smirk illuminated by the porch light on his lips. I giggled and looked down to watch his fingers lace in between mine, my head falling on his shoulder. 

“Okay, okay, whatever you say.” I could have stayed in that position for most of the night, my hand wrapped in his cool fingers and my legs pressed against his, but after a few moments, tiredness got the best of me. I yawned, lifting my free hand to cover my mouth. 

Adam’s head lifted from where it had rested on top of mine. “Are you tired?” he wondered, releasing my hand to run his palm over the top of my loose curls. 

“Not really,” I replied, giving the lie away by yawning once more. Adam shook his head, eyes rolling, before standing and pulling me up with him. 

“C’mon―it’s been a long day.” He lifted the covers for me, and while I pouted in his direction, I couldn’t deny that lying down felt absolutely blissful. 

He was already standing on the other side of the bed by the time I blinked once and was about to get in as well, but I held up my hand. “I have one little request,” I said, a tiny, wicked smile creeping onto my face. Even late at night, I still had priorities. “Could you please take off your shirt?”

“Are you serious?” Adam was staring down at me as I sat up and leaned against my chocolate leather headboard. 

“I’m asking you to indulge me a bit… And I don’t want to get any…  _ blood _ on my sheets.” While the last bit was partly true, since I was eyeing the red stain on his shirt sleeve, I was mostly interested in the indulgence bit. It was the least I could ask for after months of chastity. “Please.”

Adam’s marble-like forehead creased and one eyebrow raised in contention. We remained like that for a silent moment, each of us staring at the other in contest. I was surprised that, at the end of the minute, Adam sighed to himself and cast his eyes down. 

“You’re lucky that you’re so convincing in that pajama top,” he replied, shaking his head. He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, revealing the slightest bit more of his collar bone. “Understand that I won’t be able to be under the sheets.” 

I nodded in response. I figured that it would be a fair enough compromise. We were playing a balancing game that night.

My phone lit on the bedside table; the screen told me that my aunt had commented on a photo of me. I turned back in Adam’s direction, ignoring the notification momentarily, and found that he had already unbuttoned the rest of his shirt. I gaped as he shrugged out of the light blue fabric, pulling at the sleeves since they must have been snug on his sculpted arms.

I had occasionally guessed at what Adam would look like shirtless, since there hadn’t been much intimacy of the physical nature in the beginning of our relationship. I couldn’t deny how much I loved just talking with Adam and spending time together, but whenever his shirt would lift ever so slightly to reveal his stomach or his arms would flex with little to no effort, I couldn’t help but find myself feeling a bit… frustrated. 

This was certainly worth waiting for.

My eyes trailed down his chest, lingering on his stomach that seemed to be that of a Greek god, then landed on the v-shaped curve that his hips created. I found myself biting my lip, imaging running my fingers over that curve and into those incredibly well-fitted jeans… 

I was snapped out of my little daydream by Adam clearing his throat while he emptied the pockets of his jeans onto the other bedside table. First his wallet, then his phone, then the rounded key fob to his car;  all were stacked neatly in a little pyramid before he lifted the comforter on his side and slid in beside me.

My heart had sped just watching him move; I hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell, but I had no such luck. Of course.

“Calm down, Brynn. You’re going to have a heart attack at this rate,” he warned me with a teasing tone. I rolled my eyes in his direction, muttering  _ Shut up _ like the apparent five year old I was, but rested my head against his shoulder and ran my fingers down his taut arm, trying to focus on that and not my accelerated heartbeat. He grabbed for my hand that had moved to a resting position on top of the comforter. 

“Thank you for letting me stay here, though. Even if you are using me for my body,” Adam joked, squeezing my hand lightly.

“It’s not the only reason,” I answered and nestled a little bit more against him. His chilled skin felt like flipping to the cool side of the pillow. “I appreciate the company. I prefer to have someone else in the room when I’m sleeping,” I explained.

“Really? I would have thought you were used to sleeping alone―Being an only child and all.”

“I mean, I am. I just used to be really afraid of the dark when I was younger, you know? And having someone else there always used to make me feel better―like nothing that my imagination could create could get me when I had someone lying beside me.”

Adam nodded, looking up at my dormant ceiling fan. “So you’ve always had an overactive imagination?” He knew of my ability to overthink every situation, coming to crazy conclusions when I let my mind wander too often. Hell, my imagination had helped me realize just what Adam was without much prompting.

Perhaps it wasn’t so overactive. I laughed in response. 

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“So if someone had told you when you were ten years old that you’d be lying in bed with a vampire…?”

“I would have told them that they were crazy and then lie awake all night long, hoping a vampire wouldn’t come creeping out of my closet.” Adam chuckled quietly to himself. 

“We don’t  _ creep _ ,” he replied in an indignant voice, nudging up the shoulder where my temple rested. 

“Well, I’m aware of that  _ now _ .” I made a face up at him, pausing to stare at the shadows the dulled porch light created on the planes of his face, his features in high contrast. I shook my head slightly, looking back down at where our fingers were interlaced. “I wouldn’t have been so scared if I knew that vampires looked like you,” I added. “I had some hybrid of Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi in my mind.”

“We must have the worst PR representative,” Adam joked, making me laugh.

“Absolutely terrible,” I agreed. Without a second thought, I released Adam’s hand and slid my arm around his waist, my face resting on his chest. He smelled so damn  _ good _ ―like evergreens after the rain and warm honey. The deep breath I took in was entirely involuntary.

The muscles in his stomach tightened against my forearm and I could hear the short stop in his breath. I had forgotten−I smelled even more delightful the closer I got to him. “Sorry,” I murmured, about to pull away when his hand caught the one wrapped around him.

“No. It’s alright. You just startled me,” he replied in a soft voice. I felt him shift down in my direction so that his head rested on the pillow. Then, in the faint light, I saw his navy eyes shining right in front of mine. Breathing in and out slowly, I stared back at him. The hand around him tightened slightly, though I knew he wouldn’t feel much of a difference against his marble skin. “What are you thinking about?” Adam asked after a few seconds of pure silence.

“Um. “My skin warmed. “J-Just how good you smell. Like, I don’t know... The sun coming out after it rains.” 

He breathed out of his nose sharply, a silent laugh. “The sun, huh?” he questioned and I quietly gasped when I felt his cold hand rub the small of my back through the sheets.

“Yeah. Speaking of which...I still don’t really know what happens to you when you’re in it,” I pointed out. The subject had seemed null since the sun hadn’t made an appearance in nearly a month now. Gray seemed to be a permanent state of being for Washington in the winter.

“Er…I’ll tell you what… I believe there’s going to be nice weather in a couple weeks. I’ll show you then.”

“Really? And it’s nothing bad, is it? Bursting into flames or anything like that?” 

“I wouldn’t be so eager to show you if those things were to happen, would I?” I could feel him start to maneuver his foot closer to mine, and I desperately wished that I could completely entwine my body with his.

“No, you wouldn’t. My God, I must be brain dead.” 

“You can’t think straight because you’re tired, Brynn.”

“I’m not  _ that  _ tired,” I complained, stifling a yawn that I knew Adam could see. “I’ve stayed up later than this and it’s Saturday, for Christ’s sake. I shouldn’t be falling asleep by…” I looked at my side table where the time was barely visible in the darkness, “11:15. That’s just not right.”

“When you’ve had the night you have had, it is. Honey, go to sleep. I’ll be here… Shirtless.” I giggled at the way he grumpily stated the obvious. 

“You really shouldn’t have said that. Now I’m going to be up for  _ ages _ ,” I teased, snuggling closer to his chest. 

“You‘re lying.” I shook my head slowly, my arm tightening yet again around his waist. I kept thinking I might just hug myself out.

“No, I’m not tired. Not now,” I whispered, though my eyes closed for a moment too long. His cold body felt so comfortable, my head fitting perfectly into the crook of his arm. We were like pieces of a puzzle being put together, as cliche as that was. 

I could tell he was shaking his head, but I really didn’t care. He could be upset that I was tired, but I would have been up until two o’clock with or without him in my room. It would have been an excellent time for him to be able to read my thoughts, and yet, he only heard silence...probably for the first time since the nineteenth century. I saw one reason as to why he wouldn’t mind spending inordinate amounts of time with me.

It also hit me then that I had never really gotten the full story of how he came into this life, or existence as he would call it. He’d mentioned moments and memories but never the one that changed everything.

There was a blank silence for a minute, and if I didn’t know any better I would have thought that he had fallen asleep.

“Adam?” I asked in a childlike whisper, much like the one I used while talking on the phone with my mother.

“Yes?”

I took a deep breath before speaking. “How…” He was silent next to me, his hand now resting back on the curve of my spine. “Never mind.”

“What were you about to say?”

“It’s nothing, really,” I answered, squeezing my eyes tight in frustration. Why did I even open my big mouth?

“Come on… You can ask me anything.” God, did I know that for a fact. I let out another sigh and lifted away from him so that I could lean up and look him in the eye.

“Well, it just occurred to me that I don’t really know… How exactly you…  _ Got  _ this way.”

“You mean how did I die?” I nodded my head but I really, honestly, could not think of Adam as dead. Something about the image of him lying in a coffin, vulnerable, made me shiver.

“It’s… an interesting story,” he said, thoughtfully running his hand through his hair. For whatever reason, a crooked smile was faint on his lips. “Thing is, I wasn’t so far gone when Simon changed me,” he continued. “I was close to it but still, I was conscious enough to know what was happening.”

“Does a person have to be dying to be changed?” I interjected curiously.

“No, they could be as alive as you are but it’s Simon's way. He doesn’t want anyone to suffer any more than they have to.” I smiled at his words. I started to wonder if my worries over whether or not Adam’s family would like me were pointless. “As I was saying― it was actually the night leading into my nineteenth birthday and the first time I had gone out to drink with all of my friends in quite some time…” Adam’s eyes were fixed on a spot in the corner of my room as he recalled the story. I didn’t want to interrupt him again but I was caught off guard by the fact that he was physically almost two years older than I was. 

_ How had I missed that? _

_ Because you don’t talk about either of your ages because it’s a  _ touchy subject _ , Brynn. _

“So I suppose that I was at the pinnacle of being young and reckless,” he continued. “We were down in Five Points and of course I got mind-numbingly drunk and decided to pick a fight, because I suppose I thought that was a good idea at a time. Unfortunately, the man that I chose as my opponent happened to be one of the top members of the ruling gang. His men didn’t seem to take kindly to this kid from uptown trying to make a scene.” 

I was looking at him with bated breath, watching his eyes.  I could read dozens of lives in them.  Hearing about Adam’s past life reminded me once again that while I knew so much about him already, there was nearly 150 years worth of stories to hear. I could hardly imagine my composed boyfriend getting hammered and picking a fight, but then again, he was much wiser now than he was back then.

He continued. “It was all very  _ Gangs of New York _ , really. They took me in a back alley and started to beat the ever-loving life out of me. My mates were even worse off than I was and were otherwise preoccupied with either girls or games. They had hardly noticed when they hauled me out of the pub. I honestly should have known better, but I certainly learned my lesson.” I could see the hand that wasn’t wrapped around me absently touch a point on his left side. “I knew I was dying; there was no way to get around that fact… So, I thought I was going crazy from blood loss when I started to hear voices in the alley. 

“Elizabeth and Simon had been staying in a tenement not too far away; the place was disease ridden, and what better doctor could there be than one that mysteriously never got sick and showed no interest in the vices provided?” He swallowed and licked his lips slightly before speaking again. “Elizabeth had smelled the blood first―there was just too much of it for it be an average wound. They’d both come to investigate and lo and behold, they came across me. At the very beginning, I didn’t much appreciate the gesture―”

“Why not?”

“It’s... not a particularly enjoyable experience.” His tone told me not to delve any further.

“Oh.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Well, I’m glad they found you.”

“If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had the incredible life I’ve had… and I wouldn’t have ever met you. I’m eternally grateful to them.” With that he kissed my forehead and I could sense that that was his way of closing the conversation. 

I nestled closer into Adam, my hand on his chest. I traced small designs over his skin while a riot of butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought of the concept of gratitude.

I was grateful for Adam. I was grateful for him making me laugh more, for making me think harder, for making me  _ feel _ deeper. I felt so strongly for him.

A butterfly seemed to flit into my throat. 

I had said “I love you” plenty of times in my life… but it hadn’t been the kind of love I felt for Adam. The love I felt for my parents, my friends, or even my ex, was nothing like my feelings for the man lying beside me.

And yet… I hadn’t managed to find the right time to say it out loud. Everything about him turned me inside out and I could completely lose my train of thought just because of a mere look in his eye or the way his hand would touch mine. 

Me being me, I was too afraid of rejection; of reality. Too afraid that maybe all of this was an act. 

That maybe he was humoring a high school crush for a few years until he was bored of me.

That maybe the vampire in him prioritized my blood and acted accordingly and that this would all fade away the minute his teeth made contact with my throat.

I knew I was being ridiculous because I saw the way he looked at me, but you couldn’t blame a kid of divorce for not believing in true love.

There was no way we could back out now, though. I knew something about him that would keep me close to him for… Well, as long as I lived. Then there was the problem of my mortality. I had never in a million,  _ million _ years thought I would be the kind of girl to say it but… I was beginning to see the perks of losing my human life in order to spend those million years with this man.

I know. I am, in fact, completely and utterly ridiculous.

“Are you asleep?” Adam wondered in a quiet voice, and I realized I had been silent for quite some time as I pondered over the pros and cons of ‘I love you’.

“No. Just... thinking,” I replied, playing with my comforter. 

"About what, may I ask?" He now had his eyes set on mine, and I nearly felt the probing fingers of his mind try their best to work their way into my own. 

Breath shaking, I replied, "You," and received a slight chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Great minds think alike, I suppose," was the response I received before watching his lips move up to kiss my forehead. Damn him and his proximity. His scent only became stronger when his neck was so close to my face. 

I was going to go crazy.

"So I'm guessing you were thinking about me as well?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow in a very Adam-esque fashion.

"Yes, I was. I was thinking about how... How soft your lips are... and how much you must spend on lip balm," he explained, chuckling again while I suddenly became aware of how close his face was. 

"Hundreds of dollars a month. My biggest expense, really," I answered, smirking a bit before my apparently soft lips became preoccupied by an even softer set of lips. 

He had to be the best kisser on the entire planet. Completely honest. It was like kissing an electrical outlet. It then became difficult to remember my own name when he rolled on top of me, his body pressing against mine, though the goddamn sheet was separating us. I could have ripped that thing in half, and I was surprised Adam hadn't already. 

Goddamnit, I was in bed with a god. I was assured of this fact when my searching hands found his arms, which were so chiseled that I convinced myself that he was made of the world’s smoothest marble. The aforementioned sheet soon found itself tangled around my legs, so I thought  _ Off with you, vile piece of fabric _ as I kicked it to the end of my bed, allowing Adam's half-bare body to be completely rested on top of mine. I heard him murmur something that sounded like my name before separating our lips. 

"Why'd you stop?" I whispered, a bit out of breath while my hand moved to the back of his neck in order to bring him back down into our kiss.

"Brynn, give me a second," he replied, his voice stern as he released air quickly. His eyes were trained on my headboard. He had stayed in his place on top of me, but now he was just kneeling between my legs, which had somehow worked their way onto either side of his hips.  _ Now how did those get there? _

I made a whining sound in the back of my throat before he shot me a quick look. His eyes, which had been a dark, cobalt blue just a few minutes earlier, were now deep navy, nearly black; the gold flecks that were usually present had been drowned out by the darkness. 

So that's why he needed a moment.

"Am I making you hungry?" I asked, biting my kiss-swollen lip. 

"You could say that," Adam answered, breathing in and out slowly before giving me a light kiss. "It's not that I want your blood... It's your body that I'm more concerned about," he explained. I held back the urge to giggle at the fact that I had gotten my vampire boyfriend a bit hot and bothered. So much for not acting like a normal teenage guy. Then again, I hadn't really helped his case. It'd been a long time since I had seen any kind of action and I wasn't about to ruin my chances of getting further action by laughing about Adam's... condition.

"I guess I'm sorry?" I shrugged, and received a laugh in return.

"Oh, please. Don't be sorry that you just happen to be the most incredible girl I've ever been in bed with. You couldn't help that," he told me before giving me another kiss, this time on my neck. "It's me who has to take it easy with you." I allowed him to breathe for a few more moments, sitting up and putting my arms around him in a leisurely hug, my face on his bare shoulder. I liked the sound of the air pulling into his body, but was put off by the lack of a heartbeat beneath his skin. It was disconcerting. I felt his hand softly touch my back, and pulled away to look up at his eyes, which had faded to a shadowy sapphire color, but were less dark than they had been. 

"Thank you," he breathed, leaning his head down to give me another breathtaking kiss. I didn't want to push it with him so I allowed him to pull away this time without any audible complaint. We both shifted on the bed, finding ourselves in crossed legged positions with our knees skimming one another. He took my hands in his and turned my palms over, running his index finger over the veins in my wrist. It was strange to sit there in silence, having him map me out but I felt at ease. Maybe some noise other than my own breathing would ease the tension. 

"How asleep is Michael?" I asked Adam, who looked up at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Music," was my brief explanation. He mouthed a quick  _ ah  _ before listening for a quiet moment, completely still save for his thumb which was now rubbing the back of my hand. 

"He might as well be dead to the world," he answered, chuckling and letting go of my hand. "Keep it quiet though." 

I nodded and grabbed my phone off the bedside table before padding over to the speaker on my desk. I turned the volume down to an almost inaudible level, but enough that I could here the first beginning notes of “The Only Living Boy in New York”. 

I gasped quietly as Adam’s hands lightly touched my hips and his breath fluttered at the back of my neck.

"Dance with me?" he whispered in my ear, turning me around so that we were chest to chest. I cursed the moonlight that flooded through the window for exposing my blush and his gloriously blue eyes. He lifted me just slightly so that my feet were on top of his and started swaying. 

It had to be the most romantic moment of my entire life. 

We danced in place for only a few minutes or maybe several more but I could feel that kaleidoscope of butterflies break free.

“I love you so much.” 

Only a whisper.

The air felt polluted with the weight of the words, and I took a hesitant breath, as if the small statement would have a smell and taste. He stopped moving us and for a heart-stopping moment, it felt as if all of my worst fears would come true. Naturally, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

A gentle finger beneath my chin directed my eyes up to what could only be described as the most tender expression I had ever seen. Suddenly, my feet left the ground; I would have blamed his kiss alone had I not felt his arms wrap around my waist. 

"I love you too," he replied once he had set me down. He rested his forehead against mine and letting his pearly whites sparkle down at me. “ _ So  _ much.” I saw his eyes glint in the dim light. I released the breath I had been holding before smiling right back at him. 

My head felt light. He was really in love with me. With  _ me _ . I couldn't keep myself from pressing my lips against his once more, my arms around his neck. It was strange to think that we were just standing in my dark bedroom, my dad asleep down the hall, in Granite Falls, Washington on an average Saturday night. It felt like we were in another place; a place with no sense of time, or snoring fathers, or school in a couple of days.

It felt like we were the only two people in the world. 

Somewhere in the middle of what felt like an endless stream of kisses, the energy between us became charged with something... _ more _ . Soft and giggly moments were exchanged for ones with more heat, more need. 

I would have never thought that with all this chasteness over the past few months or so that Adam would be this... enthusiastic. No, that wasn't the right word. Adam had always been this enthusiastic when it came to me, just in different ways. 

He was eager now. 

I had speculated that Adam was the kind of guy that would not want to be involved with me  _ that way _ unless we were married (a word that sent an unrelated shiver down my spine). I'd categorized him as the old-fashioned type. I personally didn't feel that way, but the way his hands had moved slightly lower on my body made me blush. When Adam's lips hit just the right spot on my neck, something inside of me forced his name out of my mouth in a breathy whisper. I was shocked by his cold hands on the back of my thighs that lifted me up onto my dresser; the rest of my body hadn’t registered that he had moved us across the room in a millisecond. 

"You may very well be the death of me," he murmured while keeping his lips just a few inches from mine; his hands left my hips and pressed against the wooden surface. I saw that his eyes had darkened once again, the pupils mixing with the irises to create one solid, molten black spot. 

"I'll try to be good," I assured him, smirking slightly before breathing out a laugh when he flashed a dangerous smile. I liked this side of Adam. As much as I enjoyed his polite side, that was so loving and sweet and good, I thought that this side of him was terribly entertaining. 

"Too late for that," Adam answered with a chuckle, sending a shiver through my body when his fingertips lightly ran up the side of my thighs and to my hips. I decided it was time for him to shiver, so I allowed my hands to run from his shoulders, down his chest and stomach, then to the rim of his jeans. The sharp breath I heard him take in satisfied the need to see him squirm, but I was more than surprised when I felt him lift me again and move me to the bed.  _ Was that a growl I just heard?  _ I questioned myself while I felt those glorious full lips press against my collarbone before they followed a burning path up to my lips. I just couldn't help the slight moan that made its way out of my chest. I was disappointed when I felt Adam lift himself up so that he was kneeling again on the bed.

"Adam?" I asked, out of breath, while my hands touched his stomach. I just never wanted to stop kissing him. I never wanted to stop touching him. _ So this was what all-consuming love was.  _

"Brynn. Make that sound again and I might not be able to control myself," he warned me, and I contemplated doing it just to see what he would do. God, I  _ was _ being bad. I should have just stopped then, kept my hands off him and been a good girl. We'd only been dating for a few months―I shouldn't have wanted to do this just yet, but some (see:  _ large _ ) part of me didn’t see anything wrong with this. 

I decided that I'd much rather see what would happen if I did push his limits. I shifted around so that I was kneeling as well, then put my arms around his neck and leaned into his ear. "What would happen then?" I asked in the breathiest voice I could muster, though it wasn't difficult since I was already so turned on.  _ Well, hello Marilyn _ , I thought. 

Adam growled while his hands gripped firmly onto my waist. "Brynn," he whispered once more, the sound of my name on his lips making it even harder not to just have my way with him right that minute. "You have no idea what you're doing to me." 

"I think I have an idea," I replied, smirking before running my fingers through his hair. It felt as though another part of me had taken temporary control. "Adam..." I whined slightly, "It's fine. God knows I'm enjoying this."

"Oh, I know that. I would much rather have it so that your father wasn't down the hall at the moment, because I can't imagine-" He cut himself off before finishing the sentence, and I watched as his already pitch black eyes glazed over. 

"Imagine what?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side. It took a few short beats for him to come back completely to reality. 

"Imagine that... That you'd be able to stay quiet enough," he responded, and I felt my skin warm up in a heat flash. Dear God. 

"Oh... There is that," I said soberly, blushing heavily. Had he really just said that? All of my preconceptions about Adam had been thrown out the window in about 5 seconds. 

“Yes, exactly,” he replied. A hint of a smirk graced his beautiful, kissable lips. Just the thought of doing anything moan-inducing with him made my heart beat that much harder. Had I really been outside just some thirty or so minutes ago, debating whether or not Adam could sleep over? Was I  _ crazy _ ?! He could spend as much time in my bed as he damn well pleased. Maybe we just wouldn’t leave. That scenario was extremely attractive. I decided to test my limits just a little more. 

“But… What if I _could_ stay quiet?” I ran my palms up his arms and then down his chest until they rested themselves against his hard stomach muscles. I couldn’t help but revel in the intake of breath he took. His eyes gleamed dangerously in my direction, but Adam didn’t say anything right away. Instead he gently moved his own hands up and down my sides, shifting my shirt as he did. 

“I highly doubt that you could…” He sent his eyes skyward, as if praying for some patience or willpower. His dark eyes then met mine and I could have sworn I heard him mutter “Fuck it,” as he kissed me once more, pushing me back on my bed. My fingers ran up his neck and into his deliciously thick hair. All of my preconceptions about Adam had disappeared that night. All of his politeness, his chasteness, his standoffishness−gone. But I wasn’t about to start complaining. I liked this Adam. 

_ God, do I love this Adam _ , I thought as another quiet moan escaped my throat while his lips traveled down my jaw and neck. "Brynn," he warned, dragging out my name in a judgemental tone of voice.

"Adam," I whined back, just to tease him. He shook his head slightly and I could feel the smile on his lips against my collarbone.

"You're absolutely insatiable," he informed me, looking up at me with his black pupils. His mischievous grin reached those lovely eyes and I couldn't help but kiss him, dipping my head down to catch his mouth in another quick peck. 

"I can’t help it." I smiled back at him, mussing his hair with my fingers. I had been waiting for this moment for what felt like an eternity. To have Adam resting on top of me, my fingers delved into his mane of chocolate hair, and the comforting reminder that he loved me made me break into a bigger smile.  _ Oh yeah, he  _ loves _ me _ , I remembered, wanting to giggle and dance but instead bringing his head up to my level again so that I could properly kiss him, my arms sliding around his neck. 

“I think you could,” he muttered against my lips, however he did nothing to help my addiction and instead fed into it, flipping our bodies so we were in opposite positions: my thighs straddling his hips, and his face nestled in my neck. His hands transitioned from my sides to flitting beneath my boy shorts, and for each time he did a circuit, his smooth but so very manly hands delved further into my underwear until after a while, he had his palms firmly placed on my ass. Adam kissed along my throat and collarbone, and I could have sworn I could hear a shaky intake of breath as the tip of his nose dragged along my pulse. It was both terrifying and incredibly sexy to know that Adam was breathing in the smell of my blood and that part of him still wanted it with an animalistic need. 

However, another thing came to mind when I thought of animalistic need. 

My mouth had become occupied with Adam’s lips once more, but after a moment, I was the one to pull away. 

“Adam, I need to ask you something.” My chest lifted up and down slowly as I caught my breath. 

“What’s wrong?” he questioned, keeping his hands placed firmly on my hips and his incredibly dark eyes focused on mine. Why was I even mentioning this, when I had such a gloriously handsome and good man in my hands? But I felt like this needed to be said, because while I knew almost everything about Adam, there was one thing that had never crossed my mind until this very moment. 

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine. I…. I was just thinking about something.”

“What is it, Brynn?” 

“This is so embarrassing but Adam…” I hesitated, looking down at where my legs straddled his lap. I suddenly became aware that the jeans he was wearing looked much tighter than they had before, and I felt a blush escape across my face just as Adam took his hand off of my hip to lift my face to his again. 

“Brynn, talk to me,” he urged quietly, moving a piece of hair out of my eyes and holding the side of my face. I sighed, figuring that I just had to get this over with.

“Adam, this is an awkward question  _ but… _ ” I lowered my voice even more, but knew he’d be able to hear it all the same. “Are you a virgin?” I had never thought anything I could say would shock my almost 150-year-old boyfriend but low and behold, here we were, with Adam’s eyebrows nearly shooting up into that wonderful hair of his. He cleared his throat, dropping his hand away from my face so that it could return to its previous position on my hip.

“Wow, I was not expecting that. Er,” he paused, expressing the first sign of speechlessness that I had ever seen from him. I could see his eyes scan over the room, settling in the corner for a moment as he seemed to gather his thoughts. I began to assume exactly what his answer was going to be based on his silence, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by his response. 

“Well… If I’m going to be completely honest with you, which I  _ always _ will be,” Adam assured me sincerely, rubbing the small of my back as he spoke, “I’m.... not a virgin, Brynn, but I haven’t been with anyone in nearly forty years, truth be told.” I took a steadying breath―being reminded that Adam had lived many lifetimes before me always shook me a bit. I looked down once more before Adam caught my eye. “You’re the first girl that has had my heart, Brynn, and the reason I’m so careful with you is because you’re also the first human I’ve  _ ever  _ been with or even had feelings for. I understand if you feel differently about all of this but-”

“No! No, no, no,” I interrupted him, lowering my voice after my first protestation before placing my hands on his bare chest. “No, this doesn’t change things. Not really. I just felt like I should know this about you before things got more... _ Physical _ .” I smiled at him nervously before tucking a tendril of hair behind my ear. “It was just on my mind considering...” I added, casting my gaze down to our hips, moving mine into his for emphasis. Adam groaned quietly in response, his eyelids sliding closed. When he opened them again, his irises were mesmerizingly midnight blue and he gazed at me hungrily for a moment before his eyes softened. 

“I just can’t help myself when it comes to you,” he replied, slipping his arms around my waist and hugging me close. I leaned into him, welcoming the tenderness and a chance to let Adam know that I was, in fact, okay with the fact that he had been with other women. He had been alive for nearly two centuries ( _ Don’t dwell on that thought too long, _ I reminded myself), so it was to be expected that there had to have been women that had caught his eye and vice versa in all those years. He was such a genuinely good man, and he was too good for me to ever pass judgement. This was the here and now, and the thought that he had put his heart in my fragile, naive hands made my own heart warm. “But if we’re having this conversation right now,” Adam said, bringing me out of my reprieve as he pulled away from my neck, “I have to ask… Are you?” 

“I mean…” I thought of my ex-boyfriend, Connor, across the country, who, regardless of being a sweet and genuine guy, never made my heart palpitate like Adam did. 

Connor was the perfect starter boyfriend: All-American, unthreatening, and just plain old  _ nice _ . He had made me happy for quite a few months during junior year. 

He was a good surfer and a great kisser...among  _ other _ things. 

I thought about the time at his friend’s party when we both got relatively drunk and hooked up in the back of his truck. Everything in my body that night told me it was right, but something stopped us both from going all the way. Maybe we had both acknowledged the finiteness of our relationship and didn’t want to make a decision on a hot summer night when we had had one too many beers. Our problem was that, while we complimented each other, we just didn’t want the same things from life; so then life happened as it usually does: he graduated and we broke up. 

So I was honest with Adam when I replied, “Yes, I am a virgin, for all intents and purposes.”

“That was quite the pause, Miss Sloane,” Adam acknowledged, raising an eyebrow but nonetheless hugging me closer in his arms. I knew he was teasing but I felt the need to explain myself.

“Well if we’re doing honesty hour here,” I began, making light of the revelations we made that night, “I guess you could call me… experienced. I dated a guy for a while last year and we liked each other a lot and so naturally…” I made a gesture as if to say  _ One thing led to another, _ though I hated that phrase. “But I didn’t love him enough to give up anything I would regret. So… Here we are.”

“Yes, here we are,” Adam agreed, taking in a deep breath as he looked at me in the darkness. We held the other's gaze for quite some time as we contemplated the facts. I was virgin and he wasn’t. I’d had a taste of losing yourself in another person, but Adam had enjoyed the whole meal. I didn’t know and didn’t really  _ want  _ to know how often he had, but the fact that I was the first girl he had truly loved and the fact that I was mortal and breakable probably scared the shit out of him. This was new territory for the both of us. 

I needed to break the silence.

For the second time that night, I told him I loved him, just to remind him. “I trust you, with my heart  _ and  _ my body and I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way about another person, Adam, and I don’t think I ever will again. So whatever happens, I want you to know that I trust you.”

“I love you so very much, Brynn,” he replied, kissing me intensely, his fingers tangling themselves into the back of my head. I slipped my hands up to hold the sides of his face, pushing myself closer into his body so that we were melded together. I soon found myself pinned beneath his marble body, my legs wrapped around his hips to hold him tighter. After another heated moment, Adam lifted his lips away from mine and touched my face gently. “If you’re putting your trust in me, then I’m going to make sure everything is perfect when that day comes, whenever it may be.” He smiled down at me, kissing my nose. “As far I’m concerned, whatever is okay with you is okay with me.”

“In that case,” I answered, a slow smile spreading on my lips as I lifted my head to whisper in his ear, “I’d like to pick up where we left off.” I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be losing my virginity that night, especially not with my father sleeping down the hall. I needed time and I think Adam needed it as well. This fact, however, wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying my incredibly sexy boyfriend. Adam thankfully shared the sentiment, and flashed a relieved smile down at me before catching my lips with his once more. 


	8. Plans

I woke up early on a Friday morning three weeks later. I glanced out onto my porch, and while the sun was not there to greet me from just beyond the tree line, it was in fact a particularly bright gray day. I smiled, stretching my arms above my head and receiving a nice  _ pop  _ from my shoulder as I did. 

“Sure that didn’t come out of the socket?” Adam teased, his head rested in his palm as he looked at me. I made a face at him before bending to kiss him good morning. It felt so normal to have him there, in bed with me, as if this was how life usually was. He’d slept at my house almost every night since the dinner with my dad without the latter ever realizing, which was both thrilling and terrifying. I was still infinitesimally surprised that his family was completely unfazed by this fact, but then again, I had to remember that I was dating a man who was 10 times my age and could do whatever the hell he damn well pleased. 

I hopped out of bed, shaking out my hair from the ponytail I had put it in the night before while Adam and I had been kissing. That honestly felt like a natural state of being for us these days. It had only been a short amount of time since we had both said that we loved one another and broke the metaphorical levee that had kept us from thoroughly enjoying one another, but  _ God,  _ it was like we couldn’t get enough of each other. 

During school, we would steal as many kisses as humanly possible; in the hallway, at the cafeteria table, even once in the backstage of the auditorium, which had warranted quite the explanation to Kristen and Anna when I showed up to gym class with dishevelled hair and my shirt partially untucked. Adam couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me, which was a heady, flattering feeling. Whether he was holding my hand, playing with my hair, or touching the small of my back, Adam and I were magnets drawn together.  

I smiled at the thought as I bent down to fish a tan cable knit sweater out of my dresser drawer, eliciting a quiet growl from Adam. I had momentarily forgotten that I had slept in a large t-shirt and underwear, and felt a blush crawl up my cheeks.  _ Whoops.  _

Within a millisecond, I felt my boyfriend behind me, his hands on my hips as he turned me around in order to give me a deep kiss.  _ Yeah, this I could wake up to for the rest of my life,  _ I thought as Adam’s hands made their way up my back beneath my shirt. My own hands ran up and down his sides, feeling each oblique muscle as they went. I could have stayed this way forever, but I was startled out of the kiss by the sound of my father’s voice.

“Brynn? You up yet?” Michael called up the stairs, as I heard his footsteps fall.

“ _Shit!_ ” I whispered, the sound whistling through my teeth as I looked up at Adam; he returned an anxious look before flashing around my room at a blurring speed, picking up his discarded clothes as he went (since he was currently wearing black boxer briefs and a t-shirt – I had convinced him that the cold didn’t really bother me a few nights before) and then with not a second to spare, he closed my closet door behind him; I tossed my sweater over my desk chair with the rest of my clothes then clambered back into bed. 

My dad knocked and opened the door just as I pretended to let out a luxurious yawn, as if I had gotten the best night’s sleep ever as opposed to being up half the night making out with my boyfriend. 

“Hey, sleepyhead. Just wanted to check in with you before I headed out – I feel like I never see you in the morning,” Michael said, coming into my room and sitting on the end of my bed. “These days, Adam sees you more often than I do,” he added with a chuckle, since he knew that Adam came to pick me up every morning the last few weeks– though my dad didn’t know that he was driving from a few blocks away where his car was parked overnight.  

I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my neck, a habit that I had picked up from Adam. “Well yeah, I mean, it’s my fault for not waking up early enough. I  _ do _ like my sleep,” I replied, shifting my eyes to my closet for a split second before looking back at my father. 

“Indeed you do…. You also seem to like spending a lot more time with Adam lately,” he noted, and I suddenly became aware of the strange tone in his voice. 

_ Oh no. Now is  _ not _ the time.  _

“I just want to be sure that you’re being careful with him. Don’t get me wrong, I do like him a lot – He’s a nice kid with a really, really good family but it’s easy to get caught up in a guy like that, Brynn. I don’t want you to do anything irrational just because you like him. He hasn’t pressured you at-” I stopped my father short before I decided to jump off my porch from embarrassment. 

“Nope! No, no, no, no.  _ Nein.  _ Not at all.” I pushed my hair back in a rather dramatic fashion. “Dad, I just woke up―I should probably start getting ready for school an-and you might be late for work. We’ll talk about this later, okay?” I said quickly, jolting out of bed and smiling at my dad who gave me a dumbfounded look. 

“Oh….Kay,” he replied, raising his eyebrow at me before sighing. “Enjoy your day at school, Brynn. And you should put on some pants- it is winter after all,” he teased, before kissing my forehead and heading out the door. 

No way in  _ fucking _ hell did my father just try to talk about the  _ fucking _ birds and the  _ fucking _ bees while my half naked boyfriend was hiding in my closet. I could have melted into a puddle of humiliation, but my dissolving was halted when, just as the front door closed, the door to my closet squeaked open and Adam emerged. I smiled at him, blushing all the way from my neck to my hairline, before hiding my face in my hands. 

“I know you heard all of that, but please do  _ not _ say a word,” I muttered into my fingers. Adam laughed quietly before taking my hands in his and bringing them to rest between our chests. 

“I’m just glad that your father didn’t catch us while I was still in the bed.” He smiled softly down me just as I cast my eyes up to his; I knew he was trying to lessen my embarrassment by just the smallest amount. “I’m actually surprised I didn’t hear him, but then again... I was otherwise preoccupied…” he added, biting his lip as he looked down at my own lips. 

“You’re an animal,” I replied, smirking up at him.

“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t insatiable.” He had a point there. I kissed him once more, proving his point, before replying.

“Okay, despite that  _ horrendously _ embarrassing moment, I do actually need to get ready for school. Did you bring things to change into or are you going home?” I asked, bending down quickly to get my sweater out of the drawer. 

“I planned ahead,” Adam replied, taking the ball of clothes in his hand and laying them out on my bed: a white henley, dark jeans, and his brown leather jacket. “But, do you mind if I take a shower here? Just to rinse off.”

“Not if you don’t mind me doing my makeup while you do,” I answered, pulling my hair back into a ponytail so that I could wash my face. Adam followed me down the hall to the bathroom after I had double checked that Michael had actually left for work. “Michael has soap in there and whatever else you guys use.” I pulled my makeup bag out for the drawer in the vanity as well as my face cleanser and began splashing water on my face. 

It was as if this was our routine; the routine of a couple that shared an apartment as opposed to two high schoolers breaking the rules of the house…Except that I was the only one going through high school for the first time… and it wasn’t like my father had set many of rules to begin with. 

I was applying mascara when I heard the water shut off. While I hadn’t been paying attention to Adam getting in, seeing as I had had my head in the sink, I was now fully aware that my boyfriend was naked. In my shower. 

“Brynn, sweetheart, would you hand me a towel?” he said as I heard him shake the water out of his hair.

“Yeah, one sec.” I put the mascara down on the counter, grabbed a fluffy white towel out of the linen cabinet and slid my hand into the shower until I felt the fabric leave my fingers. Adam thanked me and I went back to the mirror to finish my makeup, but just as I lifted the wand to my eyelashes, I noticed motion in my peripheral. There was my boyfriend, sliding open the shower curtain with the towel only loosely hung around his hips and his skin still glistening from the water droplets. 

It was unfair that he got to look so incredible. My mouth was conveniently already hanging open due to my absolutely ridiculous mascara face, but I felt my jaw slacken slightly more as Adam readjusted the towel and I caught a millisecond long flash of what had previously been hidden beneath his black briefs. 

_ Holy shit. Really? Okay. Wow.  _ My thoughts were rapid fire as I cast my eyes back onto my own reflection in the mirror, pretending like I hadn’t just seen Adam in all of his naked glory. It wasn’t like this was the first time I had seen a guy naked before – hell, I had seen Connor naked a few times while we were dating. Sometimes when Adam and I had been kissing, I was aware of him pressed against me but  _ Jesus Christ.  _

I felt myself blush just before Adam planted a kiss on my cheek. 

“You look beautiful as always,” he said, either oblivious to the fact that I had seen him in the mirror or pretending to be. He smiled before rubbing the small of my back. “Regardless of the weather or what your father says, I like these pajamas,” a statement that he confirmed by allowing his hand to lightly smack my butt, to which I replied with a quick squeak and a smile. 

And _ I _ was the insatiable one? 

I returned from the bathroom just as Adam slid on his white shirt and mussed his hair up into its normally parted style. He smiled at me, a content grin, before sitting down on my bed to slide his feet into his tan desert boots.  _ He really is too handsome for his own good,  _ I mused as I yanked on a black bralette beneath my t-shirt. I watched him tie up his laces in the reflection of the mirror in my closet.  _ How did I get this lucky? _

With a small smile playing on my lips, I wiggled into the jeans that had previously been draped over my desk chair, tucking in the outturned pockets, and yanked my Zeppelin shirt over my head. I strolled across the room to my dresser where my jewelry box rested, and pulled out a thin, gold necklace to wear with my sweater. 

My eyes glanced up to my reflection once more and saw that Adam had stiffened in his place on the bed. His head had turned to follow me but his navy eyes were the only things that remained moving, dragging down my body before meeting my own. 

I glanced down at the necklace that I held to my chest; suddenly Adam’s chest was pressed up against my back, his hands engulfing mine in order to take the chain from my hands. 

“Allow me,” he offered, so I pulled my hair over my shoulder. I half-expected him to clasp the necklace right away, but I was pleasantly surprised, if not a little startled, to feel his lips on my neck. “Either you know exactly the effect you have on me…” His nose ran up my skin. “Or you are blissfully unaware that you drive me  _ crazy _ …” Adam whispered which immediately caused goosebumps to raise all over my body. 

It was as though his cold breath had reached the blood that coursed through my jugular. Maybe that had been the effect he had been looking for.

I imagined Adam being this close to me three months ago, when he had been afraid of letting me get too close. His best explanation had been that I was comparable to a glass of the finest whiskey beneath the nose of a recovering alcoholic. 

A month later, we would sit on my couch talking for hours, him holding my hands in his and pressing his forehead to mine; breathing deeply; acclimating. During those times, I remained silent and allowed him to drink me in without puncturing any skin (always preferable).

He had always been the careful one, the one that withheld. Hell, the Adam that I had known a few  _ weeks _ previous to this moment would have  _ never _ said those words, nor would he have his lips pressed to the very spot where my blood flowed but I wasn’t mad about the new development. 

I bit my lip, looking at him in the reflection of the mirror on top of my dresser. His eyes were dark as he returned the gaze, his fingers grazing over the tops of my arms. My father had every right to be concerned―his daughter was head over heels in love with a dangerously sexy vampire. 

“I think the feeling is mutual,” I replied, turning to give him a quick peck. “ _ But _ we have school soon,” was my regretful addition as I dipped out from where he had me pressed against the wood of my dresser and  threw my sweater over my head. I busied myself with putting some books into my bag in an effort to distract myself; otherwise Adam would have been able to have me in any way he liked. Adam groaned in response but put on his jacket regardless, taking a watch out of the pocket and sliding it on his wrist. 

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, looking a little crestfallen but still eyeing me with his thirst-darkened eyes. I nodded, and as we went out the door, I grabbed an apple to eat on the go. I waited while Adam raced to his car and drove back to pick me up, and contemplated whether or not I should mention any of what happened this morning to Kristen and Anna. I was planning on calling Zoe and Mia that weekend to tell them, because they were fully aware of the fact that I had, in fact, hooked up with my boyfriend in the auditorium and wanted to know more, but Kristen and Anna were a different story. 

Kristen would probably act enthused and giggle with me, but ever since Adam and I had officially started dating, Anna had been a little fickle with me, and I didn’t want it getting out to the school that he and I were having nightly sleepovers and (unintentionally) seeing each other naked. The last thing we needed was for people to know anymore about our personal lives than necessary, especially since Adam and his family had  _ quite  _ the secret to keep. 

As we drove towards the school, I fiddled with my nails, which were painted deep maroon. I was still mulling over whether or not I should tell the girls about the morning when Adam pulled me out of my trance. 

“So, you know how you had mentioned that you had wanted to see what the sun did to me?” I looked up and met his gaze, which had returned to its usual cobalt color now that we were far removed from my bedroom. I nodded, and he continued talking. “Well the forecast says that it’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so I figured you could come to my house and I could show you.” I was about to agree, when I stalled on the first part of his statement.  _ Come to your house?  _ I repeated the statement out loud, trying to take on a pleasant inflection, but I couldn’t help the mild sense of terror that marred the words. “I mean, you haven’t been there yet and I’d love to give you a tour...Also my parents really do want to meet you, Brynn,” he explained. He tried on his most encouraging tone and added a smile for emphasis. Damn those pearly whites.

“Well, I mean….” I couldn’t say no, because I simply couldn’t put it off forever. I did want to meet them, because from what Adam had told me about them, Simon and Elizabeth were wonderful and I didn’t want to seem rude...but here I was, this young girl who had fallen in love with their adopted son; a girl who was in no way as educated or graceful or  _ perfect  _ as Ella and Gwen were, and probably never would be. In the back of my mind, I was convinced that they would be disappointed because Adam hadn’t fallen in love with someone who was like him, someone who had lived decades longer than I had. I wasn’t a vampire. How could I ever impress them? But this was a fear that I would have to get over one way or another… Specifically in the next two days. “I mean, I guess that’d be fine… Great!” I corrected. “You  _ did _ have to sit through a whole dinner with my dad.”

“Yeah, so you owe me one,” he teased with a smirk. I laughed and reached for the hand that was rested on his stick shift. 

“Should I wear a ball gown with a high neck? Maybe a garlic necklace for protection?” I asked, squeezing his fingers.

“ _ Ha-ha _ , very funny.” Adam rolled his eyes but I could tell he cracked a smile. He had told me time and again that all of the things we were told about vampires in movies and shows were not even remotely true. Crosses and holy water were not going to save you; there was no way out.

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the school, Adam cut the engine and turned to me. “I promise, Brynn, my parents are going to love you as much as I do, and don’t you ever doubt that,” he said, leaning across to plant a kiss on my lips. I resisted the urge to delve my fingers into his hair and stay in his car for the rest of the day kissing those electric lips of his–it was probably in my better interest to get to class.

I bundled myself against the cold breeze that whipped across the courtyard and was glad that while Adam himself may have been cool to the touch, he tended to leave his jacket somewhere near the heater during the night. I was ready for winter to be over, but I also didn’t want to race through time because soon it would be the end of the year and we’d graduate and then what? Where would we go? What would our lives become?

I stopped the questions buzzing around my head, because they were not pressing at the moment and instead kissed Adam goodbye as I walked into the classroom building, trying my best to withhold my content smile as I sat beside Anna. 

“Can you stop being so  _ ridiculously _ in love?” Anna asked while clasping her hands and making a goo-goo eyed face at me as I pulled out my notebook and the copy of  _ The Bell Jar  _ that we had been assigned. I shrugged while I flicked through the pages that I had made notes on. 

“Maybe one day.”  _ In about a million years,  _ I added mentally. “Did you do the reading last night?”

“No,” she answered indignantly, since she rarely did the reading until the night before the paper was due, “but what has gotten into you two lately?” I turned my head with a raised eyebrow. “It just seems like a few weeks ago, you were holding hands like it was the fucking fifties and now you can’t stay away from each other.” I let out a short, nervous laugh and felt a blush creep across my face but didn’t reply since the final bell rang and our teacher was more than prepared to discuss the book in my hands. 

When the class ended, Anna and I walked through the hallways to her locker, where Kristen met with us. The shorter blonde groaned. “I swear to God, if Mrs. Fuller says the word _ ‘L’Hôpital’  _ one more time,  _ I’m  _ going to reach my limit,” she said, rolling her eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Anyway, what are you guys doing this weekend?”

“I think I’m supposed to go ice skating with Matt? Who knows but then he mentioned that he might have a party at his place since his parents are going away for the weekend. You guys should come,” Anna proposed, checking her lip gloss in the mirror hanging in her locker. Kristen, who had been checking her phone, nodded. 

“Yeah, Tom mentioned that. Brynn, you should come!” she suggested. 

“Like she’d be able to keep herself from making out with her boyfriend for that long,” Anna interjected before I could answer. 

“Thanks, Anna,” I replied, making a face at her. “I’d love to, but I’m supposed to be meeting Adam’s parents this weekend. Maybe Adam and I could come after?” 

“Wait, you’re meeting his parents? Are you nervous?” Kristen wondered.  _ Nervous? Oh no, I’m just meeting my boyfriend’s centuries old parents that I am  _ desperate _ to impress. No biggie,  _ I thought. I swear I felt my eye twitch. 

“I mean, I’m sure they’ll be great. I just want them to like me,” I answered, playing with my necklace. 

“I’m sure they will, Brynn. You’re perfect in every way and it’s obvious that Adam is crazy about you.” Kristen had an innate ability to make you feel good about yourself. “You guys should definitely come though–I’d  _ love _ to see Adam actually going to a party.”

“What party am I going to?” I jumped at the sound of Adam’s voice and turned to find him standing behind me. “Hey Kristen―Hi Anna,” he added, smiling at the two of them before leaning down to peck my lips. 

“Oh! Um, we were just talking about a thing that Matt’s having at his place tomorrow,” I told him, looking up as he put his arm around my shoulders. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but before Adam and I had started dating, it was obvious that he had never really been a social butterfly, nor had the rest of his family. Ever since we had been together, however, we migrated from sitting alone at empty tables to sitting among the rest of my friends. We had earned some curious looks from both his siblings and the general populace of Granite Falls High School, but now it was just a reality everyone had adjusted to. I was just glad to see that he wasn’t being so much of a…. well, a vampire. “I was saying that I’m meeting your parents tomorrow so I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to go.” 

“Well… if you wanted to go, I wouldn’t mind at all,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Really?” I asked with a surprised tone. 

“A party couldn’t hurt anybody,” he answered with a cheeky smile in my direction, making me raise my eyebrow. He knew well and good that a party could get you killed, but I obviously was not going to point this out in front of my friends. 

Anna then said, “Perfect, then you two are coming. I’ll let Matt know. Should I tell him to get you guys anything to drink?” I mustered enough strength to hold down a giggle at the thought of my boyfriend forcing down a beer.

“I’ll just bring my own–how about you, love?” Adam asked me. 

“Whatever you guys were going to get is fine with me. Just… _ don’t _ get me gin. Had a bad experience last summer.” It was now the rest of the group’s turn to raise their eyebrows at me. “Neither gin nor tonic like my stomach very much. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Noted,” Anna said just as the bell rang. “C’mon, Brynn, time to learn about ‘lay hope-ee-tal’ or whatever Kristen just said.”

“Tell me about the gin story later,” Adam whispered in my ear with a teasing smile. 

“Yeah, right,” I replied, giving him a kiss and receiving an almost unnoticed squeeze on the butt. “I love you,” I added.

“I love you too. I’ll see you at lunch.” Adam pecked my lips once more and I turned to catch up with Anna and Kristen.

 

Throughout lunch that day, I absently picked at the sandwich Adam had slid in my direction after reiterating what a big breakfast he had had that morning. My friends continued to talk about Matt’s party, which seemed to be turning into quite the production. Every time I paid enough attention to the conversation, they had thought of another person to invite and another round of booze that Matt’s older brother, Jack, should pick up.

I was otherwise preoccupied by my own mental list of to-dos.

  1. _Write my Bell Jar essay by next Tuesday_
  2. _Think of an outfit to meet Adam’s parents in_
  3. _Remember to lock the door before bed_
  4. _Become a supermodel with the knowledge of a Harvard professor and an appreciation for the taste of blood so I can impress Adam’s parents_
  5. _Panic about the future_
  6. _Stop aging?_
  7. _Don’t drink any gin_



The pencil I had been twiddling in my fingers threatened to create a small fire before Adam’s hand caught mine. I looked up from my planner to meet his eyes. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked in a quiet voice so that no one else at the table could hear him. Matt had finally started crunching numbers and they were making cuts to the mental guest list.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” It was a weak response, even if I had said it in my most cheery voice. “I just have a lot on my mind,” I added, pulling my hair over one shoulder. Adam’s forehead creased as he looked at me and I knew he was, as always, frustrated that he didn’t know exactly what I was thinking.

“ _ Brynn _ …” he scolded quietly, looking up at me through his long, pitch black eyelashes. He looked so handsome in that moment, I caught myself wanting to make an honest man out of his eyebrows. His _ eyebrows. _ I shook my head, which served as a flippant response to Adam’s query. I grasped at an explanation when his face turned exasperated.

“Latent embarrassment from this morning,” I whispered. An actual blush crept up my cheeks, which I knew was always a favorite reaction of Adam’s even if it burned his throat whenever his eyes were as dark as they were. He chuckled in response, lifting his hand to run the knuckle of his pointer finger along my cheek then to my chin.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Your dad is as concerned as any other father would be if someone that looked like me was in love with their daughter.” His hand dropped so he could take my fingers in his and his voice became so hushed that I had to strain my ears to hear him. “When I was hiding this morning, I could hear how reluctant he was to even say anything. He was just as mortified as you were, but I think he may have just caught on to the…” His eyes dipped to look at my mouth. “The shift... in how we are around each other.” 

I was immediately reminded of a few nights earlier. Adam had come by after school to finish our homework like he usually did; afterwards, we had migrated to the couch to watch some Jeopardy, since I was always fascinated by Adam’s ability to answer every single question without hesitation. While we watched, I snuggled up under Adam’s arm, my hand rested on his stomach just beneath his shirt. His hand wandered up and down my back, occasionally catching my hair between his fingers then wandering further down to rest right on the curve of my hips. 

The quietness of the routine began to lull me to sleep, and I even felt Adam’s cheek rest on the top of my head as he released a contented sigh. While my locked mind often frustrated him, Adam had explained that sometimes he found himself focusing solely on the silence in order to quiet his mind. 

He must have been doing just that because we both had been jolted from the position by a throat clearing from the other side of the room. We’d stayed an arm’s length from each other for the rest of the night.

“What does he think about… the potential reality?” I asked quietly, my gaze flicking from Adam’s eyes to his mouth, which twitched up at the side. He paused, looking for the right words (a rare occasion) while he scanned his eyes over the table around us. No one seemed to be paying attention.

“He thinks… Well, he thinks that he’s never seen two people more enamoured with each other than the two of us. He was just struck by the… Energy we give off.  _ Magnets  _ was the word he thought of. He seems to think that’s because things have gotten more  _ physical. _ ” Adam’s voice was veering near silent by the end of his sentence. 

“I mean, he’s not  _ entirely _ wrong,” I countered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear with my free hand and biting my lower lip.

“That still doesn’t mean that I don’t wish there was a way to convince him that I’ve maintained his daughter’s virtue, despite her attempts to undo me,” he whispered back, leaning forward to peck my lips. I laughed, my brain wiping itself clear of my list for just a moment.

“Don’t make yourself sound so innocent,” I replied, nudging his shoulder with mine, though I effectively bounced right off him. 

“Oh, could you guys quit it?” Anna’s pointed statement pulled us both out of the moment. I jumped in my seat a little bit and blushed; Adam simply laughed and did his best to try on an embarrassed smile. I guessed my voice had been a bit louder than intended.

“Sorry,” I answered, sneaking a smile at Adam again.  _ Yeah, definitely not mentioning this morning _ , I thought as I popped a piece of sandwich into my mouth. Anna continued to squint at us before Matt decided to change the direction of the conversation.

“So, what time do you guys think you’ll be able to make it over?” Matt asked. I was actually proud that he didn’t skip a beat when speaking to the two of us; Matt and some of the other people who I sat with had struggled to find words the first few weeks that Adam began “eating” lunch with me. Kristen had been unfailingly friendly to make up for the lack of conversation, which made me love her all the more. 

Before I could answer, Adam spoke, “I think my parents were going to make us dinner pretty early, so we probably wouldn’t be too late. You said 10 o’clock, right?” If it had been other company, I would have made a joke about what our dinner was going to entail, but I kept my mouth shut.

Matt nodded. “Yeah, man, whenever works,” he answered, downing the rest of his water bottle just as the bell rang. “Did you guys do the physics homework by the way?” Matt added, shouldering his backpack as we all stood and started walking to our respective classes. 

“Yes,” Adam and I answered together. God, we really were being obnoxious. 

“I got stuck on that seventh problem―can I see yours?” It was my turn to nod, pulling my bag over to my front and fishing the sheet out of its folder. The three of us continued down the hall, Adam explaining how we had gotten the right answer while I considered how just four months before this moment would have seemed utterly impossible.

 

**.** **.** **.**

 

“Brynn? Sweetheart?” My name was just a whisper, but that combined with delicate fingers running through my hair was enough to wake me the following morning. I whined quietly, curling on my side even more so that my face was pressed into the pillow beneath it. Adam laced his arm back around my waist and pulled me tighter against him, nestling his face against the back of my neck. “Honey, wake up,” he whispered onto my skin. 

“It’s too early to be awake,” I grumbled back, reaching for the hand that was around me and pulling it up to my lips so I could kiss Adam’s knuckles. I wasn’t being entirely ridiculous―when I managed to crack open one of my eyelids, the light outside my porch was just reaching a faded denim color, void of the sunshine that had been promised that day.

“I figured I should head out and get…  _ breakfast _ worked out before you come over today,” he explained, kissing the spot where his words had just passed over. I shivered in response. 

“ _ Or, _ ” I started, turning around so that I was facing him, “we could just not leave bed all day.” I snuggled into his chest as I spoke and breathed in his comforting, evergreen scent. 

“As pleasant as that sounds, everyone is expecting you to come by three o’clock,” he reminded me. “And I haven’t gone hunting in over a week.” I whined again, my lips pouting as I looked back up at him. His eyes were rather dark; whether this was because of my proximity or because he was actually hungry was difficult to say, but I figured it was the latter. 

“Oh- _ kay _ ,” I responded with a sleepy sigh before Adam gave me a kiss on the lips that he deepened after just a short moment. My fingers gripped his soft, navy t-shirt before gliding down to rest on the dip just above his perfect, boxer-brief clad butt. He pulled away just as my fingers teased under the band. 

“Alright, alright; before I get carried away and  _ actually  _ stay here all day…” Adam pecked my lips once more before climbing out of bed. I watched as he flitted around the room, picking up his jeans and a navy and forest green flannel off my floor and putting them on at a surprisingly human pace. 

I sat up and yawned as my arms reached for the ceiling. “What time is it?” I wondered groggily, reaching for my phone on the bedside table. 

“Six o’clock,” Adam responded before I even got a chance to unlock my screen. “You should go back to sleep―I can’t get any shut-eye, but you need to.” He slid on his jacket as he made the suggestion, adjusting the collar while he walked back to the bed. “I’ll see you at three?”

I nodded and stretched to kiss him, my hand reaching to touch his jaw. We both whispered a quick  _ I love you _ before Adam kissed my forehead and made his way to the porch. He slid the door closed behind him, and with a quick smile in my direction, he hopped over the guardrail and disappeared from my sight. 

A smile hung on my lips for only a moment before my face fell into sleepy concern. I pushed the heels of my palms into my eyes, rubbing away the sleep and hopefully the anxiety that had flooded them in the time between Adam leaping off my porch and my realization that I was finally meeting his parents that day. 

_Breathe so you can think, Brynn_. My mom’s voice was loud in my head as I pulled my legs off my bed and sat, staring at the beginnings of a bright morning. Not only would I get to see his home, I’d be seeing Adam in the sun that day. I considered if I would look at him any different afterwards, as if seeing him change would make his… condition all too real for me. 

_ He’d still be Adam,  _ I thought. He’d still be the compassionate, funny, charming guy that I had fallen very much in love with. I already knew he was a vampire, and that hadn’t stopped me from wanting to be with him in the past three months. Curiosity was just getting the best of me now. 

_ But curiosity killed the cat _ . 

I lifted myself out of bed and padded down the hall to wash my face. Just as I rounded into the bathroom, yawning widely and stretching my arms in front of me, I ran smack into my dad. 

“Oh!” I exclaimed, steadying myself on the doorframe just as he did the same with the side of the shower. He was wearing green flannel pajama bottoms and a gray t-shirt that showed signs of many teeth-brushings. He had the extra battery to his razor in hand.

“Oh, Brynn. What are you doing up this early on a Saturday?” he wondered, scratching the back of his black-haired head and yawning. 

“I just couldn’t sleep,” I answered, which was the relative truth. “Do you have a meeting today?” We maneuvered around each other while he replied. 

“No, actually. I’ve been dragged into joining some of the guys from the firm at Clarke’s mountain house down in Greenwater. Do you remember Rob Clarke at all? You would have met him when I brought you to that one charity barbeque when you were… Oh, what... twelve? He has a son that’s a few years older than you.” 

“Um… Yeah, I think so,” I answered, though I couldn’t put a face to the name. Twelve-year-old me, all gangly legs, freckles, and uncontrollable curly hair had been too focused on texting Mia about the most recent book we had read or counting down the days until I could return to Ocean City, where summer was in full force while Granite Falls was as rainy as ever. I’d be willing to admit I was going through my bratty preteen phase then. “Well, that should be fun since you guys have been working so hard the last few months.”

My dad shrugged. “I guess it should be. It’s the potentially three hour drive that I’m not looking forward to. Getting to Seattle from here is bad enough as it is.”

“You know you didn’t need to choose Granite Falls, right?” I dipped my head down to splash my face with the cold water that flowed from the faucet. “And you have John do the driving most days,” I added while I pushed my face into a hand towel.

“I know, I know. If I were in my right mind, I would have moved to Seattle years ago. I just love this house too much,” he answered, slapping the door frame twice as if to reassure the house that he wouldn’t leave it any time soon. I was probably more relieved than the house was; no Granite Falls would have meant no Adam. “Maybe once you leave for college...” Michael mused, rubbing his cheek sleepily before looking back up at me with the blue-gray eyes that had made their way to me through the gene pool. “Anyway, do you have plans for the weekend? I’m sorry that I’m leaving you here on your own again.”

“Oh, no―Dad, it’s completely fine. A-” I stopped myself before I could say, _ Adam will be here to keep me company.  _ I chose to follow through with a more attractive truth. “Adam’s parents invited me over for dinner tonight, so I’ll be there most of this afternoon.”

“Really? I’m sure it’ll be a good night then― Nicest people you’ll ever meet. Dr. Wood’s wife could charm a rattlesnake.” I nodded in response, taking his word for it, and made an affirmative sound. 

“And then I think I’m going to hang out with Anna and Kristen later on.” I chose to omit the fact that we would be together at a party with underage drinking, but what Michael didn’t know wouldn’t really hurt him. I was, in fact, usually the responsible one. 

“Maybe you could stay at one of their houses, just so you’re not alone for the night?” my dad suggested. I could almost read the underlying message in his words.  _ Magnets.  _

“Yeah, that’d be a good idea. I’ll ask them later,” I responded, hoping that would make my father breathe a little easier over the weekend. While I had no expectations to speak of, it would be nice not to have Michael calling me every hour to make sure that I was still, in fact, a virgin. I almost rolled my eyes at the thought. 

“Good,” Michael answered, slapping the door frame twice before pushing off it. “I should get  _ this _ situation,” he said, motioning to the small amount of scruff on his cheeks, “handled. I’ll pop in before I head out.” 

Left in the bathroom on my own, my mirrored twin watched me with tired eyes as I let my hair down and ran a brush through the curls. I chose to be methodical with my routine that morning, since it helped me ease my nerves. I even followed the instructions on the back of my shampoo, applying them to my racing thoughts.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

Out of the shower, about half a bottle of lotion aided my attempt to have skin as soft as Ella and Gwen’s looked. Truth be told, I probably could have slid down the hallway with the amount of moisturizer on the bottom of my feet. I could almost hear Adam in my mind, scolding me for wanting soft legs when he would be the only one touching them. 

Goosebumps speckled my arms at the thought of those strong hands of his tracing down my outer thighs while he reprimanded me. It was easy enough to imagine such a scene playing out that night, when we would get back from Matt’s party and find ourselves in an empty house. An empty house, without any sound restrictions or sleeping fathers down the hall. The goosebumps disappeared under my skin and instead manifested themselves into a shiver down my spine. Would Adam allow for that kind of situation? Would he suggest the same thing Michael had? Or had he already known my dad was going away for the weekend? 

I shook my head, trying to expel the thoughts before tugging a comb through my wet hair.  _ One thing at a time, _ I reminded myself and continued down my list of to-do’s. 

As promised, my dad had popped in as he headed out, told me to call him later when I knew where I was staying, then wished me luck at the Woods’. 

“Just be yourself, sweetie,” he told me with a reassuring rub on the shoulder. It didn’t help that being myself meant being aggressively human but I promised him I would. 

Once again, I was left on my own; to fill the silence of an empty house, I put on some music and spent much of the morning dancing around to one song or another. I swung back and forth in front of my closet, scanning through the clothes while I hummed along to some music. Ezra Koenig asked me to hold him in my everlasting arms as I tugged a black shirt off one of the hangers and held it up, examining myself in the mirror. 

“ _ No _ ,” I sighed out loud to myself for about the fifth time before I crossed my arms over my chest. My eyes scanned once more before they caught a glimpse of color sticking out among the navies and blacks that populated my closet. I pulled out a steel blue blouse that, upon a reflected inspection, was nearly the same shade as my eyes.  _ You look lovely in that color, _ Adam’s voice told me as I pulled the top over my head. 

I shuffled over to my jewelry box and pulled out one of Adam’s Christmas gifts to me: an incredibly dainty necklace that had only a moonstone pendant no bigger than a dime hanging from it. The gem nestled itself just below the dip in my throat, which I had learned (without much surprise) was one of Adam’s favorite spots. My fingers danced lightly over the necklace before running through the waves that fell around my back and shoulders. 

I looked like the kind of girl the average parent would want their son to date: wide-eyed, rosy-cheeked and golden-haired. Had it not been for a particularly long lived awkward stage and my aversion to any kind of organized sport, I could have been a Golden Girl my entire life. It had only taken me moving to the country’s rainiest city for people to catch onto that glimmer. Beneath the surface of those golden ideals, I reminded myself, I had built up line after line of defense in order to prove that I was more than the role my sunny looks cast me in.

Connor’s parents had been perfectly content with what I had put on the table, but I had to acknowledge the fact that who I was when I had just turned sixteen was a far cry from who I was at this moment. A year and some odd months had meant that I been through my first (and perhaps the last) bout of puppy love, through my first break up (my heart clenched; again, hopefully the last); I had torn through book after book, reading up on my history, on the classics, reading and rereading that battered copy of  _ Jitterbug Perfume  _ and I had developed some sense of how I felt about life and death and immortality (a concept that made me shift in my place.)

I had to wonder if this defense would prove substantial enough when faced with Elizabeth and Simon Wood. I hadn’t gotten the chance to ask Adam just how old the pair of them were, but I began to worry that I would come off as an inarticulate little girl when I spoke to a couple that I had to imagine had collectively lived over 400 years. I shivered.

I had to trust that Adam knew me well enough to think that I stood some kind of chance. He had to believe in me―Adam was, in fact, my biggest fan. I set my shoulders back like my mom had always reminded me to do as a child and looked back at my reflection. 

_ They’re not going to bite you _ . I couldn’t help but laugh.

I settled into the couch downstairs to hurry up and wait until it was time to head over to the Wood’s house. My phone buzzed beside me at about 2:45 and just a millisecond after I saw the name on the screen, Adam’s voice was filling my ear. 

“A bit quick to the draw, aren’t you?” he teased, a smile in his tone.

“We’ve spent too much time together―your lightning fast reflexes have rubbed off on me,” I replied, making him laugh. 

“It’s never enough time with you, but if you wanted to get here by three o’clock, you should leave now. I’ll text you the address, okay?” 

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” I swallowed away the small, nervous lump in my throat. “Love you.”

“I love you. See you in a bit―Drive safely.” I pressed the end button on my phone, stood to pull on my boots then bustled into the kitchen to grab my keys off the counter. Purse in hand, I wrenched open the door and was greeted by one of the most unseasonably beautiful days I had ever seen while living in Granite Falls. After weeks and weeks of blustery, cold winter weather, it took my eyes some time to adjust to the sunlight that glinted off the leaves that still clung to the evergreens outside of my house. If you had told me it was days away from February, I would have laughed in your face. 

Conveniently, my sunglasses were in the same place I had left them on the last sunny day, which seemed a distant memory. The road was a winding pathway of glittering puddles and shiny, newer asphalt that looked as if it had absorbed all of the sun’s yellow light. I dutifully followed the directions my phone chirped at me until they led me down a road I had never been on, which was shocking in a town as small as Granite Falls. The trees surrounding the road were growing denser and denser until it seemed as though I had taken the wrong turn directly into the middle of the forest. To my relief, I caught a glimpse of a black mailbox with the numbers Adam had texted me painted on the side in a pretty silver paint. 

My car was greeted by one of the longest driveways I had ever been down. It took nearly a full minute to make my way up the path, which was just as densely flanked by trees. I could see the appeal of having a hidden house for people like the Woods. 

I could also see the appeal of living in a house like  _ that _ .

My mouth went a little slack as I pulled up beside Adam’s Audi. It looked like one of those houses featured on the home improvement networks that I always found myself watching. It was much more modern than I would have imagined, since I had been picturing some kind of Victorian house all this time (maybe because Adam was Victorian aged himself). The house was made up of clean lines of metal, and the exterior was covered with dark wood and stone, interspersed with windows that gleamed in the afternoon sun.

Movement in the corner of my peripheral caught my attention and I watched as the door to the attached garage pulled up smoothly to reveal the backends of two cars. I took a steadying breath when Adam came into view, still under the cover of the garage’s shadow, his hand raised in a wave. I could see how bright his eyes were from where I sat. Another quick breath before I cut my engine. 

_ It’s time to meet the parents. _

**Author's Note:**

> In all honesty, this started as a self-insert Twilight fanfic back in 2008. It lay dormant in an old laptop that I came across while in college about 6 years later and I decided that it was worth revisiting. And rewriting. And rewriting again. It was a fucking mess and now it's completely different; it's fine. It's an on-going project and may be subject to edits as it goes on but I thought it was about time that I get this back on the internet. Truth be told, it is now the husk of a Twilight storyline but the bones of inspiration remain. I hope you all enjoy - comments are welcome and appreciated!


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